Dividend Delivers for British Trainers Newland and Insole in Lord Glitters

Dividend provided a statement win in the Lord Glitters Handicap, the feature on meeting 11 at Meydan, when the Kodiac four-year-old was produced from midfield and ran down King’s Charter to score by three-quarters of a length. Ridden by Rossa Ryan and prepared by the Newland-Insole partnership, Dividend negotiated the 1m1f (1,800m) turf test with a well-timed challenge to grab the initiative inside the final furlong and hold on.

Dividend was fitted with cheekpieces for the assignment and carried the tactics through to execution. Co-trainer Dr Richard Newland celebrated the result as a landmark for the stable: "Absolutely superb! It’s our first ever winner abroad and lovely to nab one. This horse has been knocking at the door in big handicaps and we were hopeful tonight that the extra furlong and cheekpieces would help. Rossa was keen not to deliver him too early and he judged it perfectly." Ryan, marking his first winner at Meydan, praised his positioning and the track: "I had the two Godolphin horses and the Wathnan horse in front of me and I thought ‘I’m definitely in the right spot.’ He has a good turn of foot and a tight turning track like this suits him down to the ground."

The Lord Glitters Handicap, sponsored by Azizi Developments and reported with prize money of 350,000 dirhams, saw Dividend start as a long shot in running terms. The victory added to a growing narrative of British-trained success during the cosmopolitan Dubai Racing Carnival, with the Newland-Insole operation now able to claim an international scalp early in the Carnival season.

The card offered further highlights for British connections. Northern Champion, trained by Ed Walker and ridden by Oisin Murphy, maintained an unbeaten Meydan record in the Dubai Trophy over 1200 metres, charging clear to win by two lengths from Maximized. Murphy reflected on the trip change: "It was a good decision by Ed Walker to go back to six furlongs. From halfway I let him get racing and he picked them off as they slowed down." Elsewhere Tailgunner Joe, prepared by British-based South African trainer Dylan Cunha and ridden by Bernardo Pinheiro, prevailed in the Azizi Venice Handicap over 1600 metres, narrowly defeating Jolly Roger; reports differ on the exact margin but Pinheiro underlined his faith in the colt and the value of a good draw. "I followed the horse since he arrived in Dubai. I saw his races on dirt and then his races on turf were in a high class, so when I saw him in a handicap I got in touch and asked for the ride. He was the only three-year-old in the field, carrying 54kg, and he had a good draw (5) unlike the last few times. He jumped okay and then I kept him there with the field and let him breathe but he surprised me when he really gave me the second gear."

A photographic caption on one outlet briefly miscredited Oisin Murphy with Dividend's ride, but the race riding was clearly executed by Rossa Ryan. For the Newland-Insole partnership, Dividend's success is more than a single winner abroad; it is validation of a flat campaign built around careful placement, equipment adjustments and patient riding. As the Carnival unfolds, British handlers such as Newland-Insole, Ed Walker and Dylan Cunha will be watching to see whether this early momentum converts into a sustained run of international results.