In front of a record crowd of 81,164 at Dubai's Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates last Saturday, the entire nation of Japan – after having endured a harrowing month – finally had something to cheer for when products of their rapidly-evolving breeding industry finished one-two in the 16th running of the Emirates Airline Dubai World Cup (2000 m).

The dark-hued Victoire Pisa (Neo Universe – Whitewater Affair, by Machiavellian) proved too tough for his country-mate Transcend (by Wild Rush) in a race run at something of a muddling pace. It was the latter who set off to make the running, albeit at a sedate gallop, followed by Cape Blanco and Monterosso. The decisive move came around 900 m. from home when Italian jockey Mirco Demuro, who has been riding in Japan for the past 13 years, gunned Victoire Pisa from last position to occupy second place, just outside and behind the leader, who was plugging along gamely. There was no catching Victoire Pisa once he got his head in front of Transcend in the straight and he prevailed by half a length. Monterosso, slightly cramped for room at the close, was a further neck behind in third, and the same distance clear of Cape Blanco.

Many of the runners ran below their best, most notably Twice Over, and several jockeys complained about the lack of pace. The time of 2:05.94 was significantly slower than last year – in fact, it was the slowest over the trip at Meydan this season! The Racing Post was scathing in its remarks, going so far as to say "the race is close to meaningless from a form perspective".... That noted publication allotted the winner's effort a mark of a mere 120, lower even than the previous low of 122 granted to last year's winner, Gloria De Campeao.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum graciously welcomed the winning owners in the unsaddling enclosure and posed for photographs with the victor and his emotional connections. Later, his elder brother Sheikh Hamdan gave away the coveted gold trophy to the owners, trainer and jockey amidst teary scenes, as the connections dedicated their win to the suffering people of Japan.

Incidentally, the winner has a couple of interesting connections to bloodlines in India – his sire's grandam, Silken Way, was a half-sister to the more-than-useful Road To Glory, who stood at the Doaba Stud, while his dam's grandam, Short Rations, was a half-sister to Usha Stud's Common Land, sire of many a classic winner, and to the former Dashmesh Stud resident Wattlefield, who gained immortality by fathering the great Elusive Pimpernel.

Earlier, the supporting events began with a stunning last-gasp victory for the pride of South Africa, J J The Jet Plane (by Jet Master) who annexed the Al Quoz Sprint (1000 m.) on turf sponsored by Emirates NBD. Jockey Bernard Fayd'Herbe persevered despite a turbulent passage and managed to poke his mount's head in front, pegging back the luckless War Artist. Michael "Lucky" Houdalakis schools the seven-year-old gelding for owners H S N Du Preez, C F Strydom, L Houdalakis and C Boyens.

This was followed by the Godolphin Mile (1600 m.) sponsored by Etisalat, which fell to a runner sporting the blue Godolphin silks – this was Skysurfers (by E Dubai) and his win was a popular one, given that Frankie Dettori was in the saddle. Saeed bin Suroor trains the winner and completed a double for the same connections in the UAE Derby (1900 m.) sponsored by the Saeed & Mohammed Al Naboodah Group. This race went for the first time ever to a filly but it was a really close-run thing as the regally-bred Khawlah (by Cape Cross), under young Frenchman Mickael Barzalona, only just managed to catch Master Of The Hounds (by Kingmambo) on the wire.

Last year's winner of the Dubai Golden Shaheen (1200 m.), sponsored by Gulf News, Kinsale King came up with a swelling on the morning of the race and had to be withdrawn. Whether or not that made any difference will never be known, but his absence did not hurt the chances of Singapore's most consistent sprinter, Rocket Man (by Viscount) who accelerated under a strong drive to peg back Euroears (by Langfuhr). South African expatriate Patrick Shaw handles the training duties of owner Alfredo Leonardo Arnaldo Crabbia's Australian-bred gelding and teamed up with fellow national Felix Coetzee to secure the prize.

Sound high-class geldings, as exemplified by J J The Jet Plane and Rocket Man, often enhance the pleasure of racing, given that they are around for a fairly long time, unlike some of the "hot-house flowers" who fade and wilt in an instant. Another of the same ilk is the seven-year-old Presvis (by Sakhee), who made it third time lucky in the Dubai Duty Free (1800 m.), sponsored by Dubai Duty Free. If ever a rider (in this case Ryan Moore) had his prayers for an opening answered, this was the occasion as Luca Cumani's charge got a dream run through the field to get up – after having been dead last early – to win for owner Leonidas Marinopoulos. The South African racemare River Jetez (by Jet Master) was a gallant second.

Godolphin's other trainer, Mahmoud Al Zarooni, got his name on the scoreboard by sending out the big-made Rewilding (by Tiger Hill) to annex the Dubai Sheema Classic (2410 m.), sponsored by China Guangsha. Under a typical Dettori ride, the four-year-old made amends for his St. Leger flop of last year by mowing down the challenge of Redwood (by High Chaparral) – this completed a treble on the night for Godolphin.

In the final analysis, British-breds took home three of the night's glittering prizes, leaving Australia, Ireland, Japan and South Africa with one apiece. In a press release, the chairman of the board and Chief Executive Officer of Meydan, Saeed Humaid Al Tayer, said: "Yesterday proved more than ever, that Dubai World Cup is undoubtedly the event of the year in Dubai. It unites a world that shares a common thread: the love of racing, sportsmanship, and of championing humanity as we have seen last night. The record attendance figures serve to reaffirm that Dubai World Cup is more than just a sporting event, but one with global stature and brand cache that continues to grow in international reputation."

Apart from the racing, the organizers put up a spectacular show featuring theatre, fireworks, and a display of three 100-ton megastructures, highlighting the bloodlines of the three founding fathers of the Thoroughbred, the Darley Arabian, the Godolphin Barb and the Byerly Turk.