The horse whisperer: Laurel River, trained by Abohar’s Bhupat, wins Dubai World Cup
Raj Sadosh
Abohar, April 2
As Laurel River crossed the finishing line a record-breaking 8-and-a-half lengths ahead of its competition to win the $12 million Dubai World Cup on Saturday evening, the capacity crowd at the Meydan Racecourse could not believe what they had witnessed. For Bhupat Seemar, the trainer of the winning horse owned by Juddmonte Farms, it was the “most incredible” few minutes of his life.
I’m still coming to terms with what’s happened. I think it’ll probably sink in in another day or two. It’s absolutely amazing. Bhupat Seemar
Bhupat, who hails from Abohar’s Dharampura village, is one of the leading horse trainers based in Dubai. After being an assistant to his uncle for close to two decades, Bhupat took over at the Zabeel Stables in 2021. Laurel River arrived at Bhupat’s stable from USA in the summer of 2023. Less than a year later, the 45-year-old and his stable jockey Tadhg O’Shea of Ireland scripted history.
Breaking from the far outside post in the field of 12, the six-year-old Laurel River surged into the lead at the midway point of the 2km race. Laurel River broke the old winning margin of six lengths set by Dubai Millennium in 2000, covering the distance in 2 minutes, 21.31 seconds.
“I’m still coming to terms with what’s happened. I think it’ll probably sink in in another day or two,” Bhupat said after the win. “It’s absolutely amazing.”
Bhupat is the son of Prithvi Raj, a progressive farmer of Dharampura, and the grandson of Chaudhary Hanuman Dass, who had served as chairman of the market committee here long back.
