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| Staff Writer |
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Bhupat Seemar doesn’t want to put too much stock in the result of one race. But there’s no denying that starting the season with a victory already feels good for the master of Zabeel Stables. Perfect Balance, a 5-year-old, won by ¾ lengths at the Longines Conquest to earn US$6,724.47 on 29th Oct in UAE.
Was it a sign of things to come?
“I think we’ll find out. It’s still a little bit too early, but we had a first runner and a first winner,” Seemar said. “So far, we’ve got a 100 per cent record, and it’ll probably never stay at 100 per cent. We all know that there are some exciting new horses, and we’ll find out a lot more as the season progresses.”
Seemar has spent a lot of time during his career focusing on producing high-quality horses.
Zabeel Stables has 85 or 90 horses under his and his staff’s watchful eye this season.
“We have less horses than last year because one of my big owners got 25 horses, and they went for a dispersal,” Seemar said. “But then we have a lot of new owners, a lot of exciting international new owners, which says a lot about the strength of Dubai Racing and about the strength of the Dubai economy because a lot of people want to get involved in racing at the minute.”
There are many exciting horses that Seemar has in his stable. The ageless Switzerland may still have some miles left on his legs. Switzerland, at the age of 9, came in second place at the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen at Meydan. Switzerland lost to American horse Sibelius in a photo finish.
“The finish line just came an inch too early for Switzerland, and he ran a gallant race,” Seemar said. “He still hasn’t lost his sparkle.”
The entire owned by RRR Racing has won nine races during his career. He has also placed second four times and third four times. He has earned $2.3 million in prize money during his career and $490,000 in 2023.
Discovery Island is a horse that Seemar believes could find success. He won the mile race on Super Saturday. They also have plenty of young horses that could also find success with more experience.
“We have some 2YOs as well,” Seemar said. “There are some exciting new horses as well. So, we have to find out how we do.”
Seemar didn’t leave any stone unturned looking for talent. He went to six different countries in five weeks looking for talent. That included a trip to the U.K. and to the United States.
“I did some extensive travelling, went to six different countries in five weeks.
“I went to the Tattersalls Guineas Sale in the UK and then from there, I drove to France for the Arqana Sale. From France, I flew to the US for the 2YO Maryland Sale (Fasig Tipton). Then I flew back to Ireland for the Goffs Orby sale. And then from there, came back to the UK and then back to Dubai. I later went back to the UK for the Royal Ascot sale as well.
Seemar was happy with what he found.
“We got a few nice horses from the Maryland Sale – a Speightstown colt out of Lawn Party and Mendelssohn colt out of a Curlin mare, Reiki Baby.
“I’ve got some exciting two-year-olds that we bought from the sales in Dubai,” Seemar said. “It was only the second year of that sale in Dubai. I think there’s a nice horse we bought from there. … But he’s going to be a little bit late. I think he’s probably going to run around late December or January. So we’re still trying to find out a little bit more about him.”
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There’s no secret formula for winning races. While Seemar has his eyes internationally, winning the Dubai World Cup is important for him as well.
The Dubai World Cup is the most prestigious event in horse racing in the UAE and around the world. The prize fund is large. There is a total purse of US$30.5 million across nine races, with the US$12 million Dubai World Cup.
But Seemar hopes that the stables will be able to be a major player in the biggest international races. “It has to be to win some of the best international races around the world, obviously to win the Dubai World Cup because that’s the pinnacle of where we are training,” Seemar said. “I’ve grown to watch the Dubai Cup for the longest time.”
Seemar is hoping to build a truly international clientele as well. The goal for Seemar is to also be competitive in the Kentucky Derby, Breeder’s Cup and Royal Ascot.
Seemar sees potential for big things from the horses they currently have in their stables.
“We might have some,” Seemar said. “I don’t want to jinx them, but we might have some still sitting in the stables that might be doing it for us.”
Having ridden horses from his childhood, Seemar, worked his way around the world to gain knowledge to work in the horse racing world. Having worked at Zabeel for over two decades, it came as no surprise, when he took over the reins at Zabeel Stables, succeeding his uncle, Satish Seemar.
“He’s a very good horseman,” Seemar said. “And, unfortunately, in today’s world, you don’t find good horsemanship anymore. I mean, there is, but it’s getting very rare. So Satish has always been a very good horseman right from a young age.
Seemar went to the same boarding school as his uncle. He would later spend time in the United States working For Taylor Made Farm, Chris Beckett before working for Bob Baffert, a storied American trainer who trained the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify.
“I’ve been lucky enough to go work around people like Bob Baffert and Satish Seemar,” Seemar said.
“So, we’ve had some good schooling by some good maestros in the sport.”
Although Seemar always enjoyed riding horses, whether or not he would make it a career wasn’t an idea he came up with at an early age.
“My parents and my grandparents had horses on their farm,” Seemar said. “Riding came naturally to me at a young age”.
Seemar went to school for business but ultimately went on to being involved with horses. Seemar spent 19 years serving as an assistant to his uncle. Satish is the all-time leading trainer in the UAE, with 893 winners.
As a head trainer at Zabeel, success didn’t take long to find Seemar. In his first season, Seemar won the UAE Champions’ trainers title and picked up his first Group 1 victory in the $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen.
“You always have to change a little bit,” Seemar said. “You’ve got to be dynamic. You’ve got to change with the times. But we have got a similar philosophy as we’ve always had.
Seemar’s strategy has worked so far. He has become a consistent trainer who has built his resume with winners and garnered respect from his peers. Seemar now wants to keep stacking those winners to get more revenue for the owners and to keep building on the foundation that his uncle started building at Zabeel Stables.
But Seemar attributes his early success to the animals first. His mentors have also played an important role, but the real stars are still the horses.
“It has to be the good horses,” Seemar said. “First of all, they make us all look good. You know, they make the trainers, owners and jockeys look good. The good horses and their clients who I’m lucky enough to get, who sent me these good horses, and then to surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, so I’ve got a very good team that makes us all look good.”
By Pallavi Shevade