IN November, the five-month Dubai Racing Carnival, which culminates in World Cup night, gets underway. Working for the Racing Operations and International Relations Department of the Dubai Racing Club, part of my role is to promote the Carnival and help attract overseas runners.

Irish-trained horses have enjoyed considerable success at the carnival in previous years and the initial interest has been very positive with regard to uptake for the 2025/26 running.

I grew up just five minutes from Leopardstown Racecourse. My mum Rose worked in stud farms most of her life, both in Ireland and America.

My granddad, Frank O’Reilly, was a steward of the Turf Club and served as chairman of Punchestown and Fairyhouse. Three of my uncles, Peter, Paul and Charles, were all amateur jockeys too.

While I didn’t have any direct contact with horses as a child, I went racing with my mum and dad (Rory) all the time. Towards the end of primary school, I got pony lessons at Kildare Equestrian Centre. In order to gain more practical experience, I spent summers with the Grassicks at Newtown Stud and later worked for Dick Brabazon, who were all great people to learn off.

It wasn’t all that different throughout secondary school. I continued to go racing and work with the Grassicks and Dick Brabazon. By the end of school, I had decided that I definitely wanted to work in the racing industry as a career. After my Leaving Cert, I did a journalism degree in TU Dublin. I felt that it would be a good way to meet people and get my foot in the door.

Further education

During my degree, I worked at p2p.ie with Richard Pugh and Eogháin Ward. It was a great job and one that I thoroughly enjoyed. I used to report on point-to-points up and down the country every Saturday and Sunday, and I still miss the job to this day!

After graduating, I went down to Coolmore, where I worked with James Mockridge overseeing mares, foals and weanlings. I felt that I needed more hands-on experience with horses and you couldn’t get a better education.

I went on to complete a Masters degree in Business at Queen’s University Belfast. Cathal Beale had mentioned the Godolphin Flying Start to me and I applied for it while doing my Masters degree. Cathal has been great with advice throughout my younger years and career. Having been accepted onto the programme, I started in Kildangan literally the day after graduating.

I know I am slightly biased, but it’s the best programme in the world, if you ask me. You meet the leaders of the racing world and get to experience some of the best racing across the globe, from the Kentucky Derby to Melbourne Cup. During my placements, I got to spend time in all the major racing jurisdictions. I was based with Bill Mott in Saratoga while Cody’s Wish was there.

I was lucky to be with Bill and the team when he won the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park, which was an unforgettable day. After that, I worked with James Ross at the Australian Turf Club, before completing my placement at York racecourse under the guidance of William Derby.

I learned so much from both of those organisations that it really piqued my interest in becoming a racecourse manager in the future. William and the team do an unbelievable job at York, and it is one of the best-run racecourses in the world.

A couple of weeks before I finished, Clodagh Kavanagh (Executive Director of Godolphin Flying Start) mentioned that the Dubai Racing Club were looking for someone to work in International Relations.

The role not only involved promoting the Carnival and attracting overseas horses, but also managing those runners while they were in Dubai.

Having taken up the role in July of last year, I am just over 14 months in the job now. I am really enjoying it. The entire make-up of the Carnival changed three years ago. Before that, there used to be both local and international races. Now, all the races are open to overseas runners and there are no distinctions.

The Dubai Racing Club is constantly trying to upgrade the races and attract a higher quality grade of horse.

With that in mind, subsidies are provided for runners with an official rating of 105 or higher. However, while the emphasis is on top-quality competitors, almost anyone can come. For example, during last season’s Carnival, we had horses rated as low as 70 take part. The bottom grade ratings band (55-75) has prize money for €40,000.

Something we really try to focus on is the owners and staff having a great experience whilst they are in Dubai, as they are the backbone of the game.

When I joined, a relatively new management team came into place, with Ali Al Ali as the CEO, and I would like to think that this year’s Carnival will only be bigger and better than last season.

Next March will see the 30th anniversary of the Dubai World Cup. First won by the American superstar Cigar back in 1996, the race has gone from strength to strength over the years.

While American and Arab-trained horses have dominated the race during that period, it has also seen winners trained in Britain, France and Japan. It would be great to see an Irish-trained horse walk back into the winner’s enclosure on Dubai World Cup night!

David was in conversation with John O’Riordan.