Great Wish Wins DP World Dubai Sprint Listed Stakes at Meydan

Great Wish (IRE), a five-year-old by Night Of Thunder, produced one of the biggest shocks of the Dubai Racing Carnival when he landed the Dubai Sprint Listed Stakes Sponsored By DP World at Meydan. Trained by Bent Olsen and ridden by Mickael Barzalona, the 66/1 outsider survived early contact, loomed wide and grabbed the lead more than 400 metres from the line to hold on for victory in a time of 1m 9.51s.

Sportinglife’s official result lists Great Wish carrying 59-0 and finishing first from a 14-strong, weighed-in field over 6 furlongs on good turf. Sportinglife records the winning margin as 1 1/4 lengths over Two Tribes, who finished second at 5/1 for trainer R Spencer and jockey Saffie Osborne. West Acre filled third place with the weight printed as 49-3 in the result excerpt. Prize-money distribution in the race awarded 299,998.00 AED to first place, with 99,999.00 AED for second and 50,002.00 AED for third.

The original race report captured the turning point succinctly: "Great Wish survived a bump at the start, settled just behind the pace and hit the front more than 400m from the line, holding on to win." Khaleej Times described Barzalona’s handling as "a smart ride from mid-pack," and reported the margin as "a length and a half", a slight difference from Sportinglife’s printed 1 1/4; the Sportinglife margin is the official figure shown in the result block.

The result was a market upheaval. Sportinglife’s pre-race forecast had Two Tribes and West Acre among the leading fancies, with Symbol Of Honour the forecast favourite at 13/8; Great Wish entered the race at 66/1 on that same forecast list. Sportinglife’s betting breakdown included a displayed figure of "SF:385.40 AED" alongside its market commentary, underlining the race’s competitive picture ahead of the start.

The outcome also amplified the broader narrative of the card, where international raiders outperformed expectations and challenged local dominance. Khaleej Times noted that Charlie Appleby’s strong team on the card was upstaged by European and UK challengers, while local trainers Doug Watson and Bhupat Seemar were among the few successful home representatives. Elsewhere on the card Telemark, ridden by William Buick, prevailed in the DP World Logistics Handicap, and the father-daughter duo Jamie and Saffie Osborne celebrated a big run from The Fingal Raven; Saffie Osborne said: "I’m just very grateful that Dominic and David, his owners, have been so patient with him, as we’ve always thought a lot of him, so it’s great it’s finally come to fruition."

Social media reflected the surprise and delight: an Instagram post captioned "A dream effort by GREAT WISH (IRE) in the Listed Dubai Sprint for Bent Olsen & Mikael Barzalona at Meydan RacingDubai. Son of Night Of Thunder" circulated after the race, using an alternate spelling of Barzalona’s forename.

Great Wish’s win boosts Bent Olsen’s profile on the Carnival stage and serves notice that the sprint division is open to outsiders on form and timing. Punters and connections will study the replay and the official returns to reconcile small discrepancies in margins and name spellings, but the headline is clear: a longshot stole the show at Meydan, and the international competition at the Carnival has rarely looked deeper.