adiyat racing plus.com 47 ADIYAT RACING PLUS ISSUE 838 Thursday 21 st March 2024 THE LAST WORD I wasn’t expecting the attention we got last year. Out of the Americans there were others with a better chance of winning, on paper. But he’s a ham, he loves the attention and he’s a photographer’s dream. Jerry O’Dwyer, trainer of Dubai Golden Shaheen winner Sibelius, reveals how much his star sprinter loves the limelight. It has been probably 20 years that I’ve wanted to have a winner here as when I first started (in racing) I just had Flat horses and no National Hunt ones. I got interested in the jumps with Ged (Mason) and John (Hales). It 100 per cent makes it more enjoyable having a winner with friends. Everyone looks forward to Cheltenham, while on the Flat you have the Derby. These two events are unsurpassed in the UK. Sir Alex Ferguson (pictured), fresh from success in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, enjoys a Cheltenham Festival win in the UK ahead of Spirit Dancer’s crack at the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic. Me and (Sir) Alex Ferguson, who part-owned winners Monmiral and Protektorat today, have had some great days. Going to Old Trafford I used to go in his office at 2.15pm when the teams had been sent out and we would then watch a bit of racing for 15 minutes. I would then do my best to try and pull off a miracle and get a positive result at Old Trafford. On a day when Sir Alex Ferguson celebrated two winners, Harry Redknapp joined the Manchester United legend in becoming the second former football manager to enjoy success at the Cheltenham Festival when Shakem Up’Arry obliged. I named this horse, Shakem Up’Arry, after a fan who used to stand behind me when I was West Ham manager. All he did all game was shout ‘Shakem Up’Arry’ – I used to go to bed with his voice ringing in my ears! Harry Redknapp reveals the novel approach he takes in naming his horses. I thought I had a couple of good chances today, but obviously things didn’t quite go to plan in the first race! Master of understatement Charlie Bennett who was unshipped from his mount in the first race at Abu Dhabi on Thursday, but bounced back to ride a winner later on the card. It’s business as usual and we’re not going to change anything now. We’re just going to turn every horse out the best way we can and you can’t look too much into that. Don’t change anything. It’s just another race meeting and keep going. UAE Trainers’ Championship leader Michael Costa’s mantra approaching the title is simple: ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ THE WEEK IN QUOTES
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