Our Man In Dubai

So often in racing, a terrible low can be followed by a restorative high. For owners Stuart and Kate Dobbs, that high was not only fairly instantaneous but also longstanding.

On Saturday, their venerable veteran Medicean Man (GB) (Medicean {GB}) will line up for the 77^th time in his career for what may well be his Meydan swansong in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint. The well-travelled gelding only came into their ownership after another horse owned by the father-and-daughter team broke a leg after the line at Doncaster in 2009. That same day at the track, the then 3-year-old Medicean Man surrendered his maiden tag at the third attempt in the Gask stable colours of Horses First Racing, ridden by the trainer's old friend and fellow South Australian, Clare Lindop.

“We couldn't sell him as a youngster––we owned him as a maiden for this first three starts,” Gask recalls as he and his wife Kerrie grab a much-needed caffeine boost after arriving in Dubai on the red eye on Tuesday morning.

“After losing a lovely horse, Stuart then bought Medicean Man and he's been a dream owner to have in a horse like this. He has never tried to influence where the horse was going to run––even in Singapore when his shoe came off and he didn't run, Stuart took it like a gentleman. His daughter Kate is the same. They are genuine horse lovers and totally appreciate what a horse like him has done for them. I think that's why he's raced on as long as he has because we've been able to run him only on tracks we're happy with.”

Officially a resident of Gask's Danebury Stables in Hampshire, the 11-year-old has spent plenty of time on the road and in the air while accruing his 13 wins and 15 placed efforts, and Dubai is certainly his favourite second home. Over the last five Carnivals, he has become a standing dish at Meydan, notching three victories from his 15 starts there, plus a close-up fourth-place finish in the Al Quoz in 2014.

Having previously trained in his native Adelaide, Gask arrived in England to continue his career almost ten years ago and his life in his adopted home has always included Medicean Man.

“He was in the first batch that came to me,” says the trainer. “He turned up at the yard a couple of weeks after I arrived in England. It's a scary thought that we don't know what it's like not to have him in the stable.”

Naturally, at Medicean Man's age, his connections are starting to contemplate retirement and Gask concedes that this may be the horse's last stay in Dubai.

“I haven't said it categorically but I would expect it to be his last year here. We always said that if he ever drops down to a mark below what I think is respectful to him then we would retire him. Last year he wasn't that well––we had a bit of a bug around the whole yard last year and he didn't thrive when he was here but this year everything has gone really smoothly.”

It has indeed. On Jan. 19, one week after fellow old-timer Reynaldothewizard (Speightstown)––who is officially Medicean Man's senior by six days––signalled his wellbeing with a comeback win in the Listed Dubawi S., Medicean Man followed suit with a swooping late run to win the Meydan Sobha Trophy, much to the delight of his many fans.

“He has a bit of a following now. All the lads here, and even in Doha, they know him and all wanted to know how he is. Kerrie and the kids are very attached to him,” says Gask.

“He loves getting the sun on his back in the winter. As Neil [Walsh, assistant trainer] says, he's solar-powered. He looks awful in the winter––he's very thin-skinned and his coat changes at the drop of a hat. His coat has started to turn now––I think Qatar brought it on––and he's looking great.”

Gask is quick to credit Walsh, a former trainer in Australia, with keeping Medicean Man in good order this time around in Dubai.

He says, “Neil has been a great help to me––he knows training on tracks from Australia and he would train very similarly to me. It's been great, we discuss when he's working but in between that he gets on with it and he and the horse have become best mates.”

Gask also readily acknowledges the boost the horse himself has given his stable over many years. “Being a small Adelaide trainer and finding yourself going around the world with him has been amazing. He's given me an appetite for travelling horses. You need the right horse, but I used to find even going from Sydney to Melbourne an ordeal. Now no trip is daunting any more. A horse like him gives you the confidence to spread your wings, and fortunately he has the ideal temperament for it.”

Despite his straightforward nature, Medicean Man, like every good horse, has the odd foible. He hates vaccinations and his aforementioned thin skin means he's ticklish and resents visits from the physiotherapist.

“He can be a bit of a grump sometimes as he hates being fussed,” says Gask, turning to his wife and adding, “Listen to me, I sound like I'm talking about one of the kids.”

Without hesitation, she replies, “He is one of the kids!”

And just like any proud father, the trainer is entitled to be protective of his stable star.

“He's run in five different countries now––it should have been six but he didn't run when he went to Singapore––and he always steps up to the big occasion,” he notes.

“Although he is popular and liked I still don't think he quite gets the credit for the races he's run. He was beaten half a head in the King's Stand and I felt sick that day––it would have been a massive thing for me but I was more gutted for him and I still am to this day. He just deserved it–he's a marvel.”

Securing an invitation for Medicean Man to reappear in the Al Quoz has been an extra fillip during a start to the year which has seen the Gask team in great form at home, with 11 wins so far this year in Britain at a strike-rate of 18%. Yet still, like so many of the country's smaller trainers, Gask finds himself in the position of having fewer horses with which to go to battle.
“There's no question that the challenge we have is numbers, and this year the focus we have is to get the numbers up,” he admits.

Undoubtedly, a major victory on the world stage for the hardy little sprinter would help the cause, but whatever the outcome, it's clear that Medicean Man would lose nothing in the eyes of his adoring 'family'.

“Being invited to run on Saturday was a bit of a thrill in itself,” says Gask. “We didn't come out here planning on World Cup night being part of his campaign, we just hoped he'd run well in the lead-up races during the Carnival. They've been so very hospitable to us here for five years and it's great that he has another chance to run on the big night. It's just a privilege to be here.”