UK/UAE. Dubai Duty Free’s extensive sponsorship of European horse racing in 2019 has come to a climax at Newbury Racecourse with a high-profile meeting.
On Friday 20 and Saturday 21 September, the travel retailer entertained guests attending the Dubai Duty Free International Weekend from the Fred Winter Suite, with panoramic views of the picturesque Berkshire course. The event gathered a strong attendance to the course, with many more watching on television, boosting the profile of the leading travel retailer.
Winning owners across the two days included His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum with the six-year-old gelding Tabarrak, winner of the Listed Dubai Duty Free Cup and Raeeq, winner of the Novice Stakes.
Other notable winners included Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum whose horse Pierre Lapin triumphed in the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes; Abdulla Al Mansoori who won with Desert Encounter in the Group 3 Dubai Duty Free Legacy Cup; and Prince Khalid Abdullah whose filly Quadrilateral was installed as the favourite for next year’s 1,000 Guineas after an emphatic victory in the Dubai Duty Free Full of Surprises British EBF Conditions Stakes.
Dubai Duty Free’s guests were hosted by Executive Vice Chairman & CEO Colm McLoughlin, Senior Vice President – Marketing Sinead El Sibai and Marketing Assistant Bernard Aquino.
Colm McLoughlin said: “This is the 23rd year of our sponsorship at Newbury Racecourse and we are delighted to see the improvements that have been made to the facilities during that time, and particularly in recent years.
“Sports sponsorship has played a significant role in our marketing strategy in the 35 years since Dubai Duty Free opened its doors and Newbury Racecourse has become a very special place for us.”
Among the guests were ITV racing editor Richard Willoughby, Racecourses Media Group CEO Richard FitzGerald, former trainers Barry and Penny Hills, Chief Executives of Ascot and Newbury Racecourses Guy Henderson and Julian Thick, Lady Lloyd Webber, former tennis star Annabel Croft and husband Mel Coleman and broadcaster Fred Dinenage, accompanied by wife Beverly.
All racegoers attending the event were offered the chance to win free entry into the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise prize draws in the Dubai Duty Free Marquee, where complimentary Arabic coffee and dates were served.
Dubai Duty Free will return to Newbury for the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials meeting next April, heralding the start of the 2020 flat racing season at Newbury. Then it will move its high-profile support for the sport to The Curragh for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby in June, to Ascot for the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup and to Newbury again for the Dubai Duty Free International Weekend.
