Leung Ho Yin, Simon's Bio
Simon is a well respected full-time thoroughbred racing commentator specializing in overseas international racing. Bringing with him a wealth of racing knowledge, Simon is the host and race caller for the overseas simulcast programme since 2008/09 season. He is currently the presenter on several racing television programmes including, ‘Banker’, ‘Racing Horizon’ and ‘Horse Racing – Results’.

Meydan Racecourse – Track Analysis (Dubai World Cup Day):

The lavish, state-of-the-art Meydan Racecourse features two left-handed tracks of almost immaculate precision: a standard inner dirt oval, 25m in width all round with a 400m homestretch, enveloped by a 30m wide turf track that reaches 450m from the top of the lane to the finish, and further augmented with a 1200m turf chute to cater for sprints. Smooth and hardly undulating, both tracks still present tight turns winging both sides of the course, particularly the inner dirt oval, where its slightly banked turns are often a challenge for big movers from out wide.

Meanwhile, getting fiercely sun-baked right on the desert fringe, it is noticeable that both the dirt and turf courses at Meydan – even installed the watering systems – are listed as fast and firm almost year-round, and is a remarkable feature that often gets deep closers in trouble.

First up on the turf course, the 1200m Al Quoz Sprint – utilizing the full home chute – often favours runners drawing middle or high post numbers; whereas the 1800m Dubai Turf field will travel an extended section of the backstretch, and together with a more sedate early pace, outside-drawn runners still have plenty of time to find their choice spots. As for the 2410m Dubai Sheema Classic, runners will break in front of the stand, then hit the clubhouse turn shortly after passing the judge for the first time, thus horses breaking from out wide might be forced to tuck behind others to save ground; in contrast, the 3200m Dubai Gold Cup field has a 900m stretch run before reaching the same turn, and whether be sent to the front or held back early, an outside post position is certainly more manageable.

Back onto the dirt oval, starters for both the 1900m UAE Derby and the 2000m Dubai World Cup – much similar to their Dubai Sheema Classic counterparts on the turf – will have the clubhouse turn coming to them almost immediately after the break, thus outside-drawn runners would have to race much further back than they usually do; rather, with a long stretch run through the backside in the 1200m Dubai Golden Shaheen, runners breaking from out wide can still carve out a good trip.

With sunny skies and minimal chance of precipitation through Saturday, according to the local forecasts, “fast and firm” will again be the track listing comes race night at Meydan, thus forwardly-placed runners should still dominate the competition.

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