The Al Maktoum Challenge, is a

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

run over a distance of 1,900 metres (approximately one and three-sixteenth miles) on dirt in late January at

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

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

. The event was known as Al Maktoum Challenge, Round 3 and was 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 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The race is operate ...

but was renamed in 2024 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 grass, turf course of the same distance. It operated from November throug ...

. It was transferred to Meydan in 2010 where it was run on the synthetic Tapeta Footings surface. In 2015 the synthetic surface at Meydan was replaced by a dirt track. The race was originally run over 2,400 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. The distance of the event was decreased from 2,000 metres to 1,900 metres in 2024. The three race challenge series was moved for Arabian horses and the event was rebranded as the Al Maktoum Challenge.

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 A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

: * 7 -

Frankie Dettori Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori (; born 15 December 1970), is an Italian jockey who was based in England for a career spanning over 35 years. He was British flat racing Champion Jockey three times (1994, 1995 and 2004) and rode the winners of 287 ...

(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 horse trainer, trainer in Great Britain. Formerly a policeman, he took out his training licence in 1995 and the following year was appointed as the trainer for Mohammed bin Ra ...

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

Godolphin Racing Godolphin (Arabic: جودولفين) is the Maktoum family's private Thoroughbred horseracing stable and was named in honour of the Godolphin Arabian, who came from the desert to become one of the three founding stallions of the modern Thor ...

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

Winners

References

Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing, and sports betting publisher published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of 60,629 ...

: **, , , , , , , , , **, , , , , , , , , **, , , , , , , , , **, {{Racing Post, 886812, 2025, 01, 24, 1231 Horse races in the United Arab Emirates Horse races established in 1994 Nad Al Sheba Racecourse 1994 establishments in the United Arab Emirates

Records

Winners

See also

References