Quiet Force Behind Yas Racing's World Cup Dream
Unbeaten On Dirt And Primed For Glory
When Claude Piccioni surveys the options available to Yas Racing on Dubai World Cup night, the racing manager permits himself a rare moment of quiet satisfaction. "It is always better to have two chances than one," he says, acknowledging that the operation could saddle both Muraad and Tariq in the Gr.1 Al Khayala Classic at Meydan on March 29. "But Muraad would be the number one. He is the horse we expect the most from."
That expectation carries considerable weight. The 6YO homebred arrives at the showpiece evening of the UAE season boasting an unblemished record on dirt, having won both starts on the surface at Group One level. His participation in the Al Khayala Classic, however, represents something far greater than one horse's trajectory. It is the culmination of a carefully orchestrated season for an operation now firmly pursuing quality over quantity, with 38 winners on the board and ambitions to surpass last year's tally of 46.
The man who will be watching with the keenest interest from the owners' enclosure is HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Presidential Affairs, and one of the most transformative figures in the history of Purebred Arabian racing. It is under his Yas Horse Racing Management silks that Muraad will take his chance, and it is his vision that has shaped every aspect of the operation Piccioni oversees.
A Strategy Well Thought Out
The blueprint for Muraad's campaign was drawn the moment he stepped onto dirt for the first time. Piccioni reveals that the Al Khayala Classic was always the destination, provided the horse answered the initial question convincingly enough.
"We entered Muraad in the first round and he ran on dirt for the first time," he recalls. "We thought if he passed that test, the end goal would be the Al Khayala Classic on Dubai World Cup night. He won the second round as well, and from that point we decided to wait for the Al Khayala Classic rather than go for the third challenge. It was well thought out as a strategy."
That patience speaks to an operation growing increasingly sophisticated in its approach. Where some trainers might have been tempted to contest in the Gr.1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round Three in February, testing their horse against the division's best one final time, Yas Racing chose restraint. Muraad's two Group One victories on dirt at Meydan, the Gr.1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round Two over 1,600 metres in December and a further Group One success over 1,900 metres in January, provided sufficient evidence. There was nothing to gain from another hard race and everything to preserve for the night that matters most.
From France To The Desert
Muraad's journey to the brink of the Al Khayala Classic began not in the UAE but on the turf tracks of France, where he won four races including a Group One at Chantilly and a Group Two at Toulouse under trainer Damien Watrigant. A homebred for Yas Racing, he carries the blood of his sire Thakif, himself a multiple Group One winner and now standing at Wathba Stallions.
The transition from European turf to UAE dirt is rarely seamless in Purebred Arabian racing, yet Muraad made it appear effortless. Bred by Yas Racing out of the Dormane mare Gabra, he is one of those uncommon performers who adapt to any surface, a quality Piccioni and trainer Majed Al Jahoori identified early and exploited with precision.
Silvestre De Sousa will partner Muraad on World Cup night, a decision Piccioni frames with characteristic directness. "Silvestre De Sousa is our first jockey and he is doing very well for us. He will be on Muraad. There is no need to change a successful combination."
Depth Beyond The Leading Light
"Muraad will go for sure," Piccioni confirms of the Al Khayala Classic. "We are not sure about Tariq yet." The distinction is telling. While Muraad commands the headlines, his stablemate offers Yas Racing the luxury of a second option on the biggest night of the season.
A fellow 6YO homebred, Tariq was bred by Yas Horse Racing Management LLC, the breeding arm of the operation. A son of AF Albahar, he broke his maiden on debut at Abu Dhabi in January 2024 and has since accumulated 4 wins from 15 starts, developing into a reliable performer at the highest level. His second to Mubeed in last season's Gr.1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round Three over 2,000 metres remains the performance that marks him as a horse of genuine Group One calibre.
The 2025/26 season has brought mixed results. A Listed victory at Al Ain in January demonstrated his ability when conditions fell right, but a sixth-place finish behind Falaah in the Gr.1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round Three in February fell short of the standard he set 12 months earlier. Whether he lines up alongside Muraad on World Cup night remains an open question, but his presence in the conversation underlines the depth within HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s string.
The Man Who Always Delivers
Central to both horses' development has been Al Jahoori, a trainer whose career statistics reveal a man who thrives when the stakes are highest. A two-time winner of the Gr.1 Dubai Al Khayala Classic, with Rabbah De Carrere in 2014 and Hayyan in 2023, he has proven repeatedly that he possesses the ability to produce a horse at peak condition for the defining moments of the calendar.
Piccioni speaks of his trainer with considerable respect. "Everybody has their own potential and character," he begins. "Majed is very confident of himself, which is a good quality in a trainer. He always tries to bring the horse to its best potential, especially with this kind of horse. He has been very successful in past years in the big races. That is one of his great qualities, bringing a horse to the top level for the best race."
The endorsement is emphatic. "Anytime we target a specific race, he usually has the horse in very good shape. If we set out to bring them to the target, he delivers them at 100%."
Al Jahoori's broader contribution to the Yas Racing and Al Wathba Racing operations extends well beyond the track. He has been instrumental in developing several horses who graduated to the Wathba Stallions programme, including Thakif, Areem, Naseem, Raaziq and Shateh, all of whom he trained during their racing careers. It is a legacy that speaks to the symbiotic relationship between racing and breeding at the heart of everything Sheikh Mansoor has constructed in this sphere.
Chasing Fifty Winners And Beyond
The Al Khayala Classic occupies a central position in Yas Racing's ambitions this season, but it exists within a broader narrative of sustained growth and strategic direction. With 38 winners already on board in the 2025/26 campaign, the operation is tracking towards what could be a record-breaking season.
"Last year we were champion breeders and this year we have a good chance again," Piccioni says. "We had 46 winners last season, so the target is to reach 50 and beat the record for Yas Racing, and obviously to add two Group Ones, with the Al Khayala Classic still to come. That is the big one."
That ambition reflects a philosophical shift within the operation, and in a broader sense, the continuing evolution of the empire HH Sheikh Mansoor has built around Purebred Arabian racing. The same individual who launched the HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan Global Arabian Horse Flat Racing Festival in 2009, transforming the sport's international footprint across six continents, now pursues the sport's most prestigious one-night prize with a homebred horse trained in his own backyard. The consistency of purpose is striking.
Piccioni, now in his second season as racing manager, describes the journey that brought him here. "I have been working in the region since 2007," he says. "I worked with Arabian horses previously, and then with Sheikh Mohammed's operation. Two years ago, the new general manager, Gerard Larieu, contacted me and gave me this opportunity. It is a very good opportunity because they have some very strong horses. It is a mature, well-run operation with winning horses."
His assessment of the operation's direction is equally candid. "I think with the new organisation and management, working all together, we should get even better results in the coming seasons. For now, it has been about quantity. Now we want more quality than quantity. Better horses are always the name of the game."
That pursuit of quality is underpinned by a resolutely homebred philosophy. "95% are horses we breed," Piccioni explains. "Occasionally we also buy horses. I have been here only for the second season, and any purchases so far have been private, not at public sales. They have not been young horses." It is a model that breeds to race and races to breed, with each generation of stallions feeding back into the programme.
The Dubai World Cup celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, a milestone adding lustre to an already glittering occasion. Piccioni, characteristically pragmatic, refuses to be swept up in sentiment.
"Whether it is the 29th, the 30th or the 31st, any number is a good number," he says. "I work for HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan, so everything I do is for him and for the team. I believe it would be a very good achievement to win the Al Khayala Classic. I am 100% sure he would be very happy. That is why he breeds horses and competes in this category; to win these kinds of races."
"For now, there is no plan to go beyond the World Cup," Piccioni confirms. "Muraad will stay in Abu Dhabi. I do not think he will go back to Europe, that is the plan at the moment. Of course, anything can change depending on what His Highness decides."
The future may also see Yas Racing extending its geographical reach. "We thought about it this year and then decided to concentrate for one more season on what is happening in Dubai and Abu Dhabi," he affirms.
For now, though, every thread of the operation's ambition converges on a single evening at Meydan. In Muraad, HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Yas Racing possess a horse whose unbeaten dirt record, carefully managed campaign and exceptional bloodlines make him a formidable Al Khayala Classic contender. In the team surrounding him, from Al Jahoori's meticulous preparation to De Sousa's proven partnership, they possess the infrastructure to deliver on the biggest stage. And in the 38 winners already accumulated this season, they possess the evidence that this is an operation ascending with quiet, unmistakable purpose.