UK/UAE. Dubai Duty Free’s global profile was further buoyed by its continued support for horse racing in the UK this weekend – where it was lead sponsor for the Dubai Duty Free International Weekend at Newbury Racecourse. The event took place on 17 and 18 September.
Dubai Duty Free supported five of the eight races on the main Saturday programme, with prize money totalling £276,500. This included the feature race, the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes, won by Wings Of War. COVID-19 travel restrictions prevented the Dubai Duty senior management team from attending.
Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman & CEO Colm McLoughlin said: “Once again the Dubai Duty Free International Weekend has delivered top quality racing and first-class entertainment for the thousands of racegoers who attended the fixture.
“We are grateful to Julian Thick and his team at Newbury Racecourse for their enthusiastic promotion of our brand in our absence, and we look forward to renewing our friendships in the UK when we return to Newbury for the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials Weekend next April.”
Hurricane Ivor took most of the £70,000 prize fund on offer for the Group 3 Dubai International Airport World Trophy, while Solid Stone swooped to win the Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup. Among other major races, a hugely competitive Dubai Duty Free Handicap was captured by Injazti.
On Friday the Dubai Duty Free International Weekend got underway with Godolphin’s three runners dominating the featured £40,000 Dubai Duty Free Cup; Silent Escape came first in the listed contest. The Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises Fillies’ Stakes for two-year-olds was won by Heredia while Makram took the £20,000 Dubai Duty Free Handicap for three-year-olds and above.
The racing was broadcast live by ITV and featured a post-event performance by 1980s pop star Rick Astley. He also presented the trophies for the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes in the absence of the Dubai Duty Free senior management team.
In addition to supporting two established racing fixtures at Newbury this year, Dubai Duty Free has continued to invest in sports sponsorship throughout 2021. Its support for racing includes the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, won in June by Hurricane Lane, and the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup. The latter is played out between four three-person teams of internationally recognised jockeys, and was held at Ascot Racecourse in August.
Other key events have included the Omega Dubai Desert Classic golf tournament, won in January by British player Paul Casey, and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, held in March and won by Spain’s Garbine Muguruza. In July, Australian Lucas Herbert secured the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Mount Juliet Estate and Golf Club.
