Opinion Poll: winning the restaged Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan
PICTURE: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)Dubai Gold Cup rerun defended after deaths
THE decision to restage the Dubai Gold Cup at the end of the card on Dubai World Cup night was defended on Sunday by Dubai Racing Club chief executive Frank Gabriel following the deaths of three horses.
The two-mile contest was initially stopped after Godolphin's Fox Hunt sustained a fatal injury in the home straight on the first circuit and, because he was lying on the track, it was unsafe for the other runners to complete the race.
Riders were alerted to the situation through a combination of outriders and officials in the vehicles tracking the runners, who were pulled up after travelling about seven furlongs.
After consulting with connections and vetting the horses, officials decided to re-run the race after the Dubai World Cup, only for Bronze Cannon and Grand Vent to suffer leg fractures that led to them being put down.
Gabriel said: "After the original race had been stopped, we had all the horses checked by the chief vet David Sykes and his team. Then we were in communication with all connections about a rerun race after the World Cup.
"We gave connections the opportunity to run or not. We would not have forced them to run and anyone who wanted to pull out would have had all the entry fees refunded. But they all said they wanted to run and the horses were constantly monitored during the three hours between the races."
The decision to restage the race found support among connections and there were no dropouts. John Stocker, the owner of Barbican, described the actions of the officials as "very professional".
Barbican, trained by Alan Bailey, finished seventh in the rerun.
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