AN Irish victory was among the highlights of the ninth meeting of the 2020 Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan on Thursday, and jockey Ronan Whelan has good reason to be extra happy with his success on the Michael Halford-trained Simsir, sporting the colours of HH Aga Khan.

In November 2018, Whelan had a bad fall at Meydan which saw him puncture a lung and suffer six broken ribs, forcing him to spend some time on the sidelines.