Dubai Future

The headline moment came at Royal Ascot on 14 June 2022, when he won a Class 1 race on one of the most famous stages in world racing. It was also his first career win, which makes it all the more striking — he announced himself at the very top. Since then he has added two more wins from 17 races in total, giving him a record of 3 wins and 8 places, a career that says this is a horse who turns up, competes hard, and finishes in the money more often than not.

His most recent win came at Meydan in Dubai on 5 April 2025, and the story behind it is worth telling. Trainer Saeed bin Suroor confirmed the horse had suffered a setback that kept him off the track, and this was his comeback run. Rather than take any risks, bin Suroor instructed jockey Silvestre de Sousa to settle him in behind the leaders rather than make the running. De Sousa did exactly that, letting Dubai Future travel within himself before asking the question late. "When I let him down I let him organise himself before I really went for him," de Sousa said afterwards, "and he responded to pressure." That ability to switch off and then accelerate on demand is a genuinely valuable quality in a racehorse.

Now ten years old and trained out of Saeed bin Suroor's yard in Newmarket — a stable that has sent out 15 winners already this season — Dubai Future is still racing. He ran just one day ago, which tells you everything about his durability. His last six results read 1-1-3-6-6-4, two wins sandwiched around a couple of quieter efforts, the kind of form that keeps a trainer interested in a horse of his age. With the Dubai Gold Cup apparently next on the agenda, he is still being aimed at the big occasions. At ten, that is no small thing.