ABU Dhabi was the capital of the horse racing world for a few days last week as it played host to more than 500 guests from 56 countries as part of the Global Arabian Horse Racing Festival and it proved to be a productive event full of networking opportunities for all involved.

Held under the auspices of HH Sheikh Mansoor Bin Zayed All Nahyan, a two-day conference on education and training in the racing industry formed the centre-piece of a five-day festival which included the finals of an international apprentice series plus the IFAHR Ladies World Championship and some events to promote the racing of Arabian-bred horses.

The conference attracted representatives from all the main racing schools around the world and built on the success of the inaugural event last year, delivering some stimulating sessions from a range of industry professionals, media players and specialist speakers.

Panel discussions looked at foundation training, jockeys as high-performance athletes, media skills and promotion of racing plus management of diet and weight.

In the latter session, the team from Liverpool John Moores University gave a presentation on their research study with jockeys which clearly demonstrated how following a sport-specific diet and exercise plan can greatly improve the lives of riders with tangible benefits in terms of weight management, bone density, race riding performance and mental health.

Jockeys on the panel, including Franny Norton, testified to the benefits of being able to eat more food and at more regular intervals while maintaining a low weight. The application of reputable sports science to this area in recent years, including ongoing work in Ireland under the Turf Club medical officer, is hopefully bringing us to a point where starvation and wasting become less of a requirement for the professional riders of the future.

American Hall of Fame jockey Chris McCarron was a notable contributor at the conference and offered some fascinating insights into the art of race-riding and communicating with each horse so as to achieve maximum cooperation.

Given that he has ridden more than 7,000 winners in his career, after bursting on to the scene in 1974 as an apprentice with no less than 546 wins, his description of overcoming his own limitations and fears as a teenager was truly inspirational for the many young riders present at the conference.

An enthusiastic advocate for training and education, he was responsible for setting up the North American Racing Academy in 2005 and encouraged the group to never stop learning and to act like professional athletes if they want to succeed.

Irish to the fore

Events concluded last Sunday at Abu Dhabi racecourse where the Irish influence was much in evidence.

Kildare native and former Grand National winning jockey Pat Buckley has been a key official in the Emirates for more than 30 years and he oversaw proceedings as racing secretary and clerk of the course.

RACE graduate Ghrainne Clancy acted as paddock steward while Tadhg O’Shea rode a double on the evening. Wayne Smith, Pat Dobbs, Oisin Murphy, Marc Monaghan and Dane O’Neill were all in action. To add to the Irish angle, the two local apprentices Saeed Al Mazrooi and Ahmed Al Subose, had both trained in RACE in recent years and are beginning to make a name for themselves on the circuit.

Marc Monaghan is riding in Dubai for the winter having successfully settled into his new job with Marco Botti at Newmarket where he had eight winners during the past season. Other apprentices participating in the events in Abu Dhabi were Eoin Walsh, now based in the UK with Mark Loughnane and who has 42 career victories to his name, and Rob Fitzpatrick, who will be staying in Dubai for the winter to work with fellow RACE graduate John Hyde.

Both had ridden in qualifying rounds of the apprentice championship but an Irish rider was not drawn to compete in the final race which was won by Turkish apprentice Vahdettin Kaplan.

The ladies’ race which completed the night’s racing did, however, feature some Irish interest with Evanna McCutcheon representing her country. Susan Leahy was managing the lady riders’ team which included Nadine Forde, Jane Foley and Sheila Ahern, all of whom had participated in some of the 14 qualifying races in the series over the past 11 months.

The spoils of victory went to Dutch rider Jadee Pietrasiewicz who, after a successful amateur career with more than 100 winners, has recently turned professional.

Leaving Abu Dhabi, there was a sense of collective ambition to harness this goodwill and channel the available resources towards initiatives which will make a real difference to young people aspiring to develop their careers in this global industry. We look forward to what 2015 may bring!