The Al Maktoum Challenge, Round 3, is a horse race run over a distance of 2,000 metres (one and a quarter miles) on dirt in March at

Meydan Racecourse Meydan Racecourse is a racecourse in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The grandstand is over a mile in length, and can accommodate over 60,000 spectators. Meydan opened on 27 March 2010, replacing Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, which formerly occupi ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

. It is the third of three races in the Al Maktoum Challenge series which serve as trial races for the

Dubai World Cup The Dubai World Cup (Arabic: كأس دبي العالمي) is a Thoroughbred horse race held annually since 1996 and contested at the Meydan Racecourse (Arabic: ميدان) which in Arabic suggests a place wh ...

. It was first run in 1994 on dirt at

Nad Al Sheba Racecourse Nad Al Sheba Racecourse was Thoroughbred horse racing facility in Dubai, United Arab Emirates opened in 1986. It had a 2,200 m left-handed dirt race track and a left-handed turf course of the same distance. It operated from November through March ...

. It was transferred to Meydan in 2010 where it was run on the synthetic

Tapeta Footings The track surface of a horse racing track refers to the material of which the track is made. There are three types of track surfaces used in modern horse racing. These are: *Turf, the most common track surface in Europe *Dirt, the most common trac ...

surface. In 2015 the synthetic surface at Meydan was replaced by a dirt track. The race was originally run over 52,400 metres before he current distance was established in 1996. The race began as an ungraded stakes race before attaining Listed status in 1996. The race was elevated to Group 3 level in 2000 and became a Group 2 event in 2002. The race became a Group 1 event in 2012.

Records

Record time: *1:59.60 - Dubai Millennium (2000) Most wins by a horse: * 2 - Salute The Soldier (2021, 2023) Most wins by a jockey: * 7 -

Frankie Dettori Lanfranco Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), better known as Frankie Dettori, is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been British flat racing Champion Jockey three times and has ...

(1996, 1997, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008) Most wins by a trainer: * 11 -

Saeed bin Suroor Saeed bin Suroor (born 16 November 1968 in Dubai) is a horse racing trainer in Great Britain. He took out his training licence in 1993 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation. He has been ...

(1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2014, 2015) Most wins by an owner: * 8 -

Godolphin Racing Godolphin (Arabic: جودلفين) is the Maktoum family's private Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of ...

(1996, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008, 2013, 2015)

Winners

References

* Racing Post: **, , , , , , , , , **, , , , , , , , , **, , , , , , , , , {{Racing Post, 834356, 2023, 03, 04, 1231 Horse races in the United Arab Emirates Recurring events established in 1994 Nad Al Sheba Racecourse 1994 establishments in the United Arab Emirates

Records

Winners

See also

References