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| Staff Writer |
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"Put it there!" Michael Costa likely said to his son Hunter, as he requested a low five after Alhzeem's victory in the Season Opening Cup. This significant race took place during the opening meeting at Jebel Ali Racecourse last Saturday.
There was a touching moment between father and son, filled with emotion. Costa Jr. gazed up at his father, admiring the brilliance of the man he calls dad, while Costa Sr. reciprocated by contemplating the evident precocity in his own offspring. Upon returning from the podium after his fourth presentation of the day, Costa told Adiyat Racing Plus that Hunter, his favorite horse, had won Alhzeem.
He still had one more win to come, as he went on to win five of the six thoroughbred races on the card - a new high for him and the entire team working behind the scenes for Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the founder and patron of Jebel Ali Racecourse. All attendees could do was sit and watch as runner after runner carrying Sheikh Ahmed's bright yellow silks crossed the finish line.
Costa may have won all of the awards on Saturday if Doug Watson hadn't intervened and prevented him from achieving a complete victory. "Seems we've made a good start," Costa stated rhetorically before going on to explain how the processes he implemented at one of the UAE's finest training facilities are beginning to yield results.
“It’s been a really big summer and the team have worked very hard all around in terms of setting the goals of what we wanted to do and achieve here at Jebel Ali,” said the 36-year-old, a native of Queensland.
“We’ve managed to tick a lot of horses over during the summer. We kept them moving and gave them a break as well, so it’s a
bit of everything really and it was a much easier transition into training for them. The horses seem to have done really well with that approach.”
AR+ had a conversation with Costa during his first year as a rookie, where he mentioned his preference for focusing on small improvements that contribute to the bigger picture. This strategy proved successful during the 2022-23 season, where he trained 93 runners and achieved 14 wins, 18 second place finishes, and 10 third place finishes. In the current season, he has already achieved five wins out of 11.
“We can complicate stuff, but the basic thing is that horses need to be fit and well. You do the basics well. Feed them the best way you can, have the best work riders and you train each horse as an individual. You don’t want to complicate them,” said Costa.
“His Highness Sheikh Ahmed’s approach was to start again, and he wanted to buy yearlings. So, we bought a bunch of yearlings last year and again this year we bought some, so it’s a stable that is going to grow organically and nicely and with time it’s going to get stronger and stronger.”
During a break or the off-season, what does a trainer typically do? In Costa's case, he spent a considerable amount of time traveling. Although some of his travels were for leisure purposes, the majority were for work-related reasons.
“I went back (to Australia) only once for a little bit, but Melanie and the kids went twice so we’ll just see how it pans out this year,” said Costa, who moved to Dubai last year with his wife Melanie and their four kids Harvey, Hunter, Hugo and Mila.
“It was busy because it was my first off-season, and we spent a lot of time travelling to sales and getting an understanding of how we should be going.
“There were a lot of sales at which we didn’t buy. We only really bought at Keeneland, but you learn about these sales, and you learn what to do and what not to do and it’s a little bit of a different approach buying yearlings compared to breeze ups.
“But it was a good experience to travel the world and meet some new people. I think next year we will hone it in a little bit and just target a couple of sales.”
All that has led to Costa having a sizeable population to tend to, with newcomers, yearlings, juveniles and perhaps even older horses taking up stall space at Jebel Ali.
“We’ve grown in numbers, so it’ll be hard to forecast how many in number of runners we’ll have compared to last season, but I’m thinking we’ll have something like 60-70 horses ready in that range,” he said.
“I’ll have to check the stats of how many we actually ran last year, but we had 12 on the track at Jebel Ali and we’ll have a nice half a dozen heading to Meydan next Friday night to keep the momentum going.”
Dubai Racing Club have announced a raft of changes to the racing programme at Meydan Racecourse, chiefly the Dubai World Cup Carnival being replaced by the Dubai
Racing Carnival and, according to Costa, changes in the programme have become a whole lot more accommodating for horses.
“I don’t know how much the season has changed although I know it has been a bit kinder for horses to kick off and start somewhere,” he said.
“All the handicapping races are based on basically Jebel Ali complementing Meydan. It’s an ecosystem where each of the racecourses have to complement the other with the tight racing schedule.
“So, I think you can see this is a club that’s really moving forward and it’s exciting to watch that unfold along with the horses.”
While his methodology has worked wonders, visiting ‘mate’ James Orman’s own conjurings in the saddle also helped in the five-timer. The Costa-Orman partnership has deep roots with the pair combining very successfully on home turf as well. It’s a temporary alliance for now, with Costa set to join forces with established Irish-based rider Ben Coen, who has been drafted in on a retainer for the season.
“James will be here only until racing at Meydan next Friday and then he will duck off home and our stable jockey Ben Coen will arrive,” Costa said.
“Jimmy is a good mate of mine from Australia and rode for me in Queensland. I think he has a strike rate for me of about thirty five to forty per cent which is a very high strike rate. He’s a great bloke so it’s nice to get him over to help us out as we’re waiting for Ben to arrive.
“People back home have been very excited for this meeting to kick off. I haven’t checked the phone yet, but people have been staying up to see the racing so it’s good to have results like this.”
Costa has gained significant recognition for his career accomplishments, including Phobetor's triumph in the Group 2 Heineken Missile Stakes at Randwick in August 2021. Additionally, he boasts a Group Three victory with Supergiant's win in the 2020 Lexus Gunsynd Classic at Eagle Farm.
During his first year in the Emirates, his horses dominated a Meydan card, securing a treble with ease. As he looks ahead to the coming months, one of Costa's goals will undoubtedly be to build on his previous success at the Dubai World Cup Carnival program, particularly with Mouheeb's win in the Al Garhoud Sprint sponsored by DP World.
“I haven’t had much time to experience the Dubai Dream because I’ve been working, but it’s been good. The family is happy and well. The family is great and I’m very lucky to have these facilities and the backing of Sheikh Ahmed.”
If last week at Jebel Ali was anything, that dream might have only just begun.