Sport Desk
DUBAI: The GBP 125,000 Group Two Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes stood out at the two-day Dubai Duty Free International Weekend attracting a field of eight two-year-olds, all with Classic hopes for next season.
The race commemorated the late and popular jockey Geoff Lewis who died last month aged 89 and rode Mill Reef to victory in all his races including the Derby, King George and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Many true greats like Mill Reef, Brigadier Gerrard, Shergar and Frankel all established themselves at Newbury.
Ten years after the success of Ribchester, that may be the case with Godolphin’s Words Of Truth trained by Charlie Appleby and ridden to victory by William Buick in the 2025 renewal of the six furlongs contest, the colt’s third win in a row.
In sweeping rain Words Of Truth emerged from the gloom to collar the favourite Into The Sky, the pair finishing clear. Words Of Truth’s greater experience showed and he must now be a leading light for next year’s Two Thousand Guineas.
Winning rider William Buick said: “This is my first time winning the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef, which is very special. There’s a statue of Mill Reef at Kingsclere where I spent many years when I was young as an apprentice, and to do it for the great Geoff Lewis is special too.”
The day had begun with the GBP 85,000 Group 3 Dubai International Airport World Trophy sprint over five furlongs in which the three-year-old filly First Instinct trained by William Haggas, though small in stature battled it out to defeat older colts and geldings. She may not have quite the scope to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner No Half Measure who went on to Group One glory but as her jockey Tom Marquand, riding at the top of his game, said, “She has the heart of a Lion”.
Local trainer Andrew Balding continued his stellar season with success in the GBP 75,000 Dubai Duty Free Autumn Cup Handicap over one mile and five furlongs with Lieber Power who improved greatly on his sixth place finish in the race last year. “That’s why you use top jockeys,” said Balding as Godolphin’s retained rider Buick steered his own prominent path and brought the14-1 outsider home.
Race three on the seven-race programme was the equally valuable GBP 75,000 Dubai Duty Free Handicap a Class 2 event over ten furlongs. One of the features of this meeting is the continuity with horses who reach their peak in the autumn and are brought back time and again. That was the case with the seven-year-old Mustazeed, bred by Shadwell Estates.
Mustazeed won the same race last year and was only 1lb higher in the handicap this time. “He’s a s tough as teak,” said successful jockey Daniel Muscutt. There’s every prospect Mustazeed will be back again next year.
The concluding Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Handicap worth GBP 25,000 and hotly contested by fifteen three-year-olds over the straight mile went to the William Haggas trained Eternal Force and provided jockey Tom Marquand with his third winner of the day bringing his total to number of winners over the two-day meeting to five.
He’s changed for being gelded,” said Marquand with his characteristic modesty, steering home Eternal Force, a son of Godolphin’s great stallion Dubawi and running in the distinctive blue and yellow colours of Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum.
On day one of the Dubai Duty Free sponsored meeting, the emerging Lambourn stable of trainer Edward Smyth-Osbourne provided the winner of the Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises Stakes over 7 furlongs for two-year-old fillies and worth GBP 30,000. Tavana will surely use this victory as launch pad for her career and that of her young trainer.
The Dubai Duty Free Nursery Handicap a seven furlongs contest for two-year-olds worth GBP 13,000 will also help speed the career of young rider Ashley Lewis. His inexperience allowed him the maximum claim of 7lb and he used it to good effect coming home a clear winner for the second locally-trained winner of the day, Tom Dascombe’s Senorita Vega.
The principal race on the opening day was the GBP 50,000 Listed Dubai Duty Free Cup run over seven furlongs 7 furlongs for three-year-olds. A one-two-three for the Maktoum family saw H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum’s Remmooz, who cost 250,000 guineas, overcome Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s Volterra, at 500,000gns with Godolphin’s 700,000gns Spy Chief in third. “We will put her away now,” said the winner’s upwardly mobile Newmarket trainer Owen Burrows. “She will be better on faster ground and it is quite tacky out there.”
Dubai Duty Free Deputy Managing Director Salah Tahlak received guests at a pre-racing lunch on the second day of the meeting announcing another record-breaking trading year celebrating ever increasing sales and an unmatched tenth “Airport Retailer of the Year” award.
He said, “Our partnership with Newbury Racecourse spanning three decades has brought many rewards including the opportunity to engage with members of the racing media, commercial contacts and the wider racing community and we are delighted that it will continue in 2026.”
Total prize money paid out at Newbury this season increased by over GBP 1million to GBP 6.9million, Newbury’s operating profits still jumped by about three-quarters against the backdrop of a very challenging British domestic market and attendances were up bb double figure percentages.
The contribution of Dubai Duty Free’s patronage has produced magnificent racing throughout the year and helped sustain the heritage course through difficult times.
The Hon. Harry Herbert, a Director of Newbury Racecourse for fifteen years and founder of the Highclere Thoroughbred Racing Syndicate said, “Newbury has long been my favourite racecourse and to see it bucking the all the trends and going from strength to strength, gladdens my heart. The continued faithful sponsorship of Dubai Duty Free has been instrumental in the racecourse’s prosperity.”
