(photo credit: Dubai Racing Club - horse: Elnajmm)
Currently fourth in the UAE championship rankings with 38 victories this season, while sporting the highest strike rate of any rider in the top five, jockey Ray Dawson heads into the 2026 Dubai World Cup with arguably a sneaky-good quartet of rides. The Irish native has solidified himself as one of the nation’s top riders, a status that has only been strengthened by his strong relationship with HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s formidable stable.
For said Jebel Ali-based stables, which are headed by trainer Michael Costa and managed by Mohammad Al Shehhi, he rides three on the evening, topped by in-form dual 2026 group winner Elnajmm, who heads into the Group 1, $5 million Dubai Turf in the form of his life. Fresh off victories in the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort and Group 3 Ras Al Khor, the well-bred sort has long been highly regarded. He must up in trip from seven furlongs to nine on Saturday, as well as take on Godolphin’s heavily favoured Ombudsman, but the overall vibe with the horse is more than optimistic for the market’s sixth choice.
“I love the horse,” Dawson said. “I don’t think the distance will be a problem at all. He’s a Sea The Stars. He’s got pace to get up over seven furlongs, but he’s just a genuine type. He’s always quite a fresh horse, as well and that’s obviously the reason why he can lay up over seven. I think my main worry is the draw. I’m in 10 of 11 and I would have loved to have drawn in the first four or five because he’s very fast away and I could keep things very simple with him, but from 10, with not a lot of pace on—Fort George should go forward and another one, possibly—the rest are kind of hold-up horses.
“I think, if he can get a smooth run around, whether we have a lead or are mid-division—as long as it’s a smooth run and they don’t go too slow—I think he could run a massive race. He’s one of my favorite horses and it would just be great to get a winner for Sheikh Ahmed, Michael and Mohammad. The whole team has really supported me a lot this year and last year.”
One race prior, the yellow and black silks will unveil Midland Money, a former Bob Baffert trainee who heads into the G1, $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen with top-class form lines, including a second last out in the G1 Malibu over seven furlongs. Privately purchased and working steadily locally toward this assignment, the good-looking sort will break from post seven of 12 in a race flush with pace. He is being well-respected in the market as the third choice.
“He’s a beautiful horse; just a lovely horse to ride,” Dawson said. “He’s probably not going to have the pace to be handy and I wouldn’t imagine so, especially with so much speed on. Hopefully from gate seven, we get a decent break and will be tagged onto the back of a few of them. He’ll definitely stay strong. I think six furlongs is probably his (shortest) limit and it looks like that from his replays, as well. He’s more of a galloper than a sprinter.
“Hopefully the race can set up well for him. They could cut each others’ throats (on the front-end pace) and we could come from mid-division. My only question mark is will he need the run. I don’t know. He’s done as much as he can to get to the races. Fingers crossed he can run well.”
One race prior to that will be the G1 Al Quoz Sprint over six furlongs on turf, where HH Sheikh Ahmed’s Marbaan, a multiple G2 winner, will try to do better than his sixth last year in the same race. While this season has not yet gone to plan and he missed his final prep, the yard has repeatedly conveyed that the horse has trained even better than last year, when he went into Dubai World Cup night on the heels of two group victories. The son of Oasis Dream is currently a an 11th-choice longshot in the 13-horse market.
“I’m not too worried about the competition in the race,” Dawson explained. “Obviously, there’s Lazzat and other very good runners. The ground is a question and he’s never really run on soft turf before, but he stays well and has the blinkers on. He worked with the blinkers on last week and I was very pleased with him. He showed a lot of interest. His work is never mind-blowing, but it was quite impressive with the blinkers. We’re going to just jump and let him find his stride and ride him knowing that he stays well. If the ground turns out soft and he’s not handling it, then I’ll be very easy on him, but if he’s bang there, I think he could run a really big race. He’s a fresh horse, as well.”
Kicking off the night for Dawson will be G1-winning Arabian Mubeed, currently third choice in the market for the G1 Dubai Kahayla Classic and a force when on song. Second last out in Super Saturday’s G1 Al Maktoum Challenge R3, the Jaber Bittar-owned and -trained 6-year-old drew post 14 of 15, but looks an obvious player in an intriguing ‘DWC 2026’ lid-lifter.
“We’ve got a bad draw, but I’m not really too bothered, because he doesn’t like to be too crowded,” Dawson said. “There’s a lot of good horses drawn wide, as well, so it might actually set up perfectly for me. He kind of needs something to chase as long as possible. The last day he kicked forward from a wide draw and may have got there too soon. He pulled himself up and got a little bit cute, so from this draw, hopefully we can land in the first five or six and track some decent horses.
“If he turns up, definitely he’s in the money,” Dawson concluded. “I think he’s definitely top three. It all depends on the run we get. I really look forward to getting on him and he would have improved from the last run, as well.”
