A big admirer of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, British trainer George Scott is super excited ahead of the 2026-2027 Dubai Racing Carnival, having opened his new base on these shores recently.
Inspired by his success in the Middle East, Scott hopes his second base in Dubai will bring the best out of him as a trainer as he aims to produce winners at the iconic Meydan racecourse.
“My interest and enthusiasm for racing in Dubai have just grown over the past few years. We felt it was the right time to make the step — instead of just having the odd horse there, to looking to have a permanent base,” the Newmarket-based trainer told the Khaleej Times.
“Dubai, as a racing destination, is fantastic. Meydan is arguably the most impressive facility for racing horses in the world. You see it under beautiful evening conditions.
“The track is extremely well maintained and looked after, both on the grass and the dirt. The racing offers excellent prize money.”
The biggest ambition for Scott is to have a horse in the Dubai World Cup, one of the richest races in the world.
“The World Cup is really one of the great spectacles in world sport. There’s no question about it. You have horses coming from all around the world, running for the most amount of money ever put on the table, in the most iconic setting,” he said.
“The place is just alive with enthusiasm and excitement. It’s a cauldron of excitement. It’s such a special horse race, and I don’t think that if you haven’t been there or been involved in the build-up, it’s very hard to get a feeling of what it’s like.”
Compared to other iconic races, the Dubai World Cup is relatively new, with the first edition taking place in 1996. But Scott says its standing in the industry is now as profound as that of Royal Ascot, the Kentucky Derby and the Breeders’ Cup.
“I would equate it to any of the British classics and put it alongside the excitement you feel when you’re at the Breeders’ Cup. It’s absolutely unprecedented, the excitement it generates in the area and the quality of horses that come in,” Scott said.
“It’s incredible, with all those big stables winning it. It’s got a rich history.
“So in the years to come, hopefully we’ll be writing about horses that we’ve got running in the World Cup. The World Cup is a unique, one-off race that we’d love to be part of one day.”
Scott then doffed his hat to Sheikh Mohammed for his visionary leadership as he acknowledged that the Dubai Ruler’s legacy extends far beyond the UAE racing industry.
“What the Maktoums have done for British horse racing, Sheikh Mohammed has done for British horse racing. It’s really unparalleled compared to any other family or individual in racing history,” he said, referring to Godolphin, the global horseracing stable founded by Sheikh Mohammed.
“There are so many people in England and Ireland who are still breeding and running horses because of their support through ownership, breeding, incentives and sponsorship.
“And Meydan is a reflection of his vision for the world of horse racing. It’s an elite stadium to be in. It’s perfectly designed, with every detail considered to make sure that the viewer has the best possible experience and the horse has the best possible chance of running to the best of its ability.”
Having grown up in a farming family, Scott has carved out a name for himself in the racing industry.
Now, he hopes his move to Dubai will catapult him into the league of the world’s leading trainers.
“Setting up the stables, whereby we’re going to call Meydan home for the winter, is exciting. I feel very grateful for the opportunity, and I hope that we can bring some new people to stand alongside us and allow them to experience what we’ve been lucky enough to experience over the last seven or eight years of visiting Dubai and seeing that track,” he said. “So, yeah, I’m excited. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and hoping that we can be competitive.”
Source: Khaleej Times