Horses to be brought from UAE for racing event in Chengdu

The Dubai-based Meydan Group and the Chengdu city government have reached an agreement to hold a world-level horse-racing event — Chengdu Dubai International Cup Wenjiang-Meydan Classic, in Wenjiang district of Chengdu, Sichuan province, on April 6.

The event, organized by the Meydan Group in accordance with United Arab Emirates horse-racing rules, will consist of five turf races, highlighted by the 2,200-meter Chengdu Dubai International Cup and the Wenjiang Meydan Classic of over 1,600 meters, according to Malih Lahej Al Basti, vice-chairman of Meydan Group.

The three support races will be the Meydan Mile, the 1,400-meter Guangsha Handicap and the 1,200-meter Wenjiang Sprint, he said.

All the horses that compete in the races will be airlifted to Chengdu from the UAE. They will be prepared by Dubai Racing Club trainers and ridden by the jockeys who take part in the UAE racing season, including the Dubai World Cup Carnival.

Although a relative newcomer to thoroughbred racing, Meydan racing has quickly become established on the world horseracing stage. A large part of the success is the hosting of the Dubai World Cup Night, which is the biggest single-day purse in world thoroughbred racing.

"We will bring our good experience in hosting horse races to Chengdu and help improve the local equestrian industry," said Frank Gabriel, Dubai Racing Club chief executive.

The races will take place at the Jinma Racecourse in Chengdu's Wenjiang district, where the annual China Equestrian Festival has been held for the past three years.

"We have done investigation into the equestrian facilities in Wenjiang district for the last three years, and we think the district is capable of holding an international horse event," said Lou Zhongfu, honorary chairman of Guangsha Group, one of the main sponsors of the 2010 and 2011 Dubai World Cup.

"Wenjiang has a time-honored tradition of breeding, training and racing horses, and it is experienced in hosting a variety of horse events," said He Min, deputy chief of the district.

"We would like to give horse-racing lovers and the world a big surprise with top- level horse racing," added He.

liyu@chinadaily.com.cn