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| Staff Writer |
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Training out of Zabeel Racing Stables he is one of the leading trainers in the United Arab Emirates and he spoke with Ten Furlongs on his career to date and what was to come.
He took the reins at the stable last year and has not looked back and does not intend to as he looks to take the Zabeel name into the future.
Born and educated in Delhi with parents from Rajasthan he grew up around farms that were owned by the family.
“I grew up with horses as my parents had them on the farm and I knew how to ride but didn't know how to get into it professionally,” Seemar said.
“My uncle Satish did it professionally, so I followed suit.
“I did my bachelor's degree in business and graduated with honours, but a desk job wasn't for me, so I knew that I wanted to be out and around horses.”
His training career started after leaving for the United States where he spent 18 months in Kentucky working for Taylor Made farms before working for trainer Chris Speckert for 6 months and Bob Baffert in California for 5 years.
His career has seen him prepare 385 starters as his record closes in on fifty winners which include a Group One and a Listed Race achievement.
The Group one major win was by Switzerland in the Dubai Golden Sheehan earlier this year which saw him turn the clock back as an eight-year putting in an empathetic win hitting the lead with 200 meters left fending off competition from the Japanese invader Red Le Zele.
“It’s such a fantastic result. We have always really liked the horse. Tadgh (O’Shea, the winning jockey) and I spoke in the morning and made a plan. I knew there would be plenty of pace in the race, so we wanted to pick up the pieces,” Seemar told the media following the win.
Another career highlight came earlier this year when he trained Summer is Tomorrow in the Kentucky Derby, a training milestone Seemar is extremely proud of.
“It was a surreal experience! First of all, to get selected to go to Kentucky Derby is incredible.
“Since I was a child, I watched every Kentucky Derby, and I was present there for many of them even when I worked for Bob (Baffert) or even as a spectator.
“There are around 35,000 horses born in America every year and only 20 get to go into the starting gates in the Kentucky Derby - so you know, it's like going to the Olympics.”
Having raced his entire career in Dubai with six races at Meydan and one at Jebel Ali he broke his maiden in his third race as a two-year-old.
He would go on to earn his bid as a late Triple Crown entry after putting in a strong effort to lead all the way at 25-1 in the UAE Derby, only to be beaten by Crown Pride.
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After his run at the Kentucky Derby, Seemar understands what needs to be done going forward for the stable to contest what is regarded as the greatest two minutes in sports at Churchill Downs.
“Obviously, it is never easy. Everything has to go right. And the biggest thing is to travel from Dubai to America and run against horses that are residents there and there is always going to be a lot against you, but you know, adversaries make you stronger.
“It was always a dream just to get selected and now we know what to do, what kind of horse we need to take, and we're going to try our best to win that race someday.”
When asked about the effect travel had on the colt as well as other horses the trainer understood the miles covered already by the three-year-old sired by Summer Front out of Always Tomorrow.
“He was born in America and then went to Ireland where he was broken and ridden. From there he went to the United Kingdom where he was sold and then came to Dubai – so he had plenty of air miles on him early on. It's never easy to travel a horse that far as even human beings can be knocked out by different time zones and travel - so we always make sure we have very good vets on hand to travel with him.”
“He did set the record for the fastest quarter mile ever in the 148-year history of the Kentucky Derby and maybe the second or third fastest half-mile ever but those are not the records we wanted to set. I would have liked it if he had the fastest last four furlongs rather than the first four. It is extremely hard for him to relax behind horses so when the Japanese horse and him hooked up early in the race, unfortunately, they burned themselves out.”
“But you know, this is how this horse racing is and this is what happens.
Seemar was confident that the stable would see some more runners come out in the coming weeks.
“Bendoog is a ginormous horse - what he did last year was incredible for his size. The horse only broke his maiden two months previously to running in the UAE Derby – a phenomenal performance.”
Bendoog will be running in the mile conditions race on the 1st of December
“It gives the top three-year-old’s in the country a chance to meet and race before they go and meet older horses - we don't have racing in the summer here so these three-year-old’s don't get a chance to run against their age and gender much.
“That makes this race a very clever one as you could probably meet the Guineas winner versus a lot of improving three-year-olds.”
The plans for His Group One winner Switzerland are still in the making, but Seemar says that “after talking to connections, we might run him in January”
“We're going to just try and keep the same formula as last year”
Seemar says that the Zabeel Racing team hopes to build to 135 horses this season offering options for training and racing opportunities for himself.
“I would think we would probably have fifty percent new horses and the other half older horses.”
The notable attendant at sales said that he was at most sales across the globe and even though it was an intense task but hopefully it was worth it in the end.
“I think I did six countries in five weeks – we have some great owners who really give us great support.
“We were able to buy some really nice horses - lots of them are diamonds in the rough because they haven't run but there is a lot of potential.”
He said at each sale no matter which corner of the world it was when scoping out lots he looked for the same qualities in a prospective purchase.
“Usually it's the four P’s - Pedigree, Performance, Physical and Price.”
“Everybody hopes to win the Guineas or the Derby so we mainly look at a horse that are bred to run on the dirt.”
He also said that plans to send runners to Bahrain or Qatar were uncertain but with a couple of runs in races such as the Listed race on National Day Cup and the Listed Emirates Championship under their belt, we will have a better idea of which horses to point at races in the GCC countries.
“We will judge from there and make a call. They have moved the Emirates Championship, the listed race at 2200mtres to December as well – we will run horses there and then decide from there.”
Alongside his training opportunities and pursuit of further success he also commented on the introduction of NFT's launched by the Dubai Racing Club earlier this year.
“The Dubai police brought out one of the first police NFT’s and now in horse racing, we have the first horse NFT’s in the world.”
“I think it’s a great idea – I would definitely like to look further into it.
“You know Dubai is always forward-thinking and ahead of everyone, so I really think it is great.”
With a career that has taken the next step seeing him take over the string at Zabeel Stables Seemar now looks to the future and with confidence aims to contest and ultimately win the biggest domestic and international races.
“Well, I am biased because I call Dubai home now – so it would be great to win the Dubai World Cup.
With Bhupat Seemar at the helm, the Zabeel Racing name will continue to grow and be noticed on the global stage with greater success along the way.
“Dubai World Cup, Kentucky Derby, Saudi Cup or Breeders Cup - if we can get close to some of those races that'd be absolutely phenomenal!”