RACING action was somewhat overshadowed at the third meeting of the 2021 Dubai World Cup Carnival in Meydan when news emerged of the death of Pat Buckley. The extremely popular race official was an integral part of the racing scene in the area, and jockeys in the final races of the day wore black armbands.

The feature was the Group 3 Firebreak Stakes over a mile on dirt and Secret Ambition, runner-up in the two previous editions of the race, came good at the third attempt. He and jockey Tadhg O’Shea turned the race into a procession. The eight-year-old entire son of Exceed And Excel won the Group 3 Jebel Ali Mile in January 2019, later that year adding the Listed Dubai Creek Mile, but he had not tasted success since until Thursday.