Emirati trainer Musabbeh Al Mheiri has never given up on his dreams, even at the age of 64.
Twelve months ago he reached a significant personal milestone of saddling 500 winners, an achievement that he confessed he never ever thought was possible in his lifetime.
Now he stands on the threshold of another major landmark, and a far greater one – of winning the $12 million Dubai World Cup.
A former amateur jockey who competed in bareback horse races on the beaches of Ajman, as a youngster, Al Mheiri saddles the oldest horse in the race on Saturday, a nine-year-old veteran called Military Law.
The son of Dubawi, one of the most iconic stallions of modern-day flat-racing, stamped his ticket to the Dubai World Cup at Meydan last month, when he rolled back the years to win the prestigious Al Maktoum Classic.
“We know the odds are stacked against us, but we remain hopeful because he is a horse with a lot of heart,” said Al Mheiri. “Anything can happen in horse racing, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed that he runs a big race.”
Military Law takes on some of the best middle distance horses in the world including defending champion Ushba Tesoro from Japan, 2023 UAE Derbby victor Derma Sotogake and fellow UAE hopefuls Kabirkhan and Laurel River, who are trained by Doug Watson and Bhupat Seemar, respectively.
The standard of horses is staggering across the nine-races with 33 individual Group 1 winners representing owners from 13 countries.