From Kentucky to Kazakhstan – and then the Dubai World Cup? Laura King with the story of the son of California Chrome whose Dubai Carnival exploits are making the racing world sit up and take notice
UAE: He might be the most talked about horse in 2024 so far, but he’s not running at the Cheltenham Festival or the Kentucky Derby. He’s from Kazakhstan and his name is Kabirkhan – and he’s a leading contender for the Dubai World Cup.
A search for Kabirkhan’s name on X (the artist formerly known as Twitter) reveals that nearly 400,000 people have watched his debut race at the Almaty Hippodrome (Royal Ascot it ain’t), while 30,000 have seen him go through the ring as a yearling in Keeneland in 2022. And that’s just one social media platform.
So why the sudden interest? A son of hugely popular US superstar California Chrome – winner of the Kentucky Derby in 2014 and the Dubai World Cup two years later – Kabirkhan shot into the limelight on January 12 when winning a ten-furlong handicap on a Dubai Carnival card at Meydan.
It was his debut for UAE champion trainer Doug Watson and he was impressive, overcoming a slow break to register a four-length victory over his ten rivals.
Next home was Hero Mo, at that point also trained by Watson, who had beaten Kabirkhan on their previous meeting – in the Russian Derby at Krasnodar in September.
Mind you, that was Kabirkhan’s only defeat in 11 career starts, which include three in Almaty and six in Russia, where he raced at three different tracks. So far, he’s won from 1,200 metres to 2,400 metres, on dirt and Polytrack.
Relative obscurity
Such versatility helped ensure Kabirkhan’s rise from relative obscurity in Kazakhstan, where the racing industry is small indeed, featuring only around 300 horses.
“There are many provincial tracks there, but Flat racing is not regular,” explains Evgeny Kappushev, a Russian racing TV presenter and owner. “They specialise in long-distance races. The only track which races on a regular basis is Almaty.”
It is common, therefore, for the best horses in Kazakhstan to head to Russia, where Kabirkhan was based with trainer Arslangirey Shavuyev. “Racing in Russia is a guiding light for them,” adds presenter Kappushev, who travelled with a 
film crew to Dubai to follow Kabirkhan’s second run there, just two weeks after his debut.
He was glad he did when the colt repeated his easy win, but this time in a $1m race, the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge – a ‘win and you’re in’ qualifier for the Dubai World Cup.
There was a 30-strong Kazakh support party on course to see the victory, and celebrations got so wild that one particularly zealous flag waver ended up in a hedge.
Cheered through the airport
There to collect the trophy was owner Tlek Mukanbetkaliyev, whose light blue and yellow silks reflect the national flag. The Kazakh businessman,who had been cheered through the airport in Almaty after the previous win, is relatively new to racing with a small string of horses in Kazakhstan, plus five in Russia.
“I’m very happy, this is my biggest victory,” said the owner, speaking through a translator. “This horse is a star across Russia and Kazakhstan, everyone believes he is a champion. 
“We wanted to bring him to Dubai because we remember California Chrome winning here in 2016. We want to do that again.”
Kabirkhan’s huge following is partly down to just that: the California Chrome effect. It was due to the changing fortunes of that sire that he was picked up relatively cheaply at the Keeneland yearling sale in September 2021, costing agent Nadir Khassanov just $12,000.
“I liked his father when he raced,” he says. “I followed his foals at the auction, but they were expensive at first. Then he was sold to Japan and I realised that his foals would be more reasonably-priced.
“I also liked his mother [Little Emily], as she had a mix of European and American blood. He had everything about him that I n
eeded. I believed in him and that he would make a great horse.”
Khassanov (right) is also responsible for the naming of the flashy chestnut colt – who is not, contrary to popular belief, named for the Indian film director Kabir Khan. “Kabir is Arabic for mighty or great and Khan is Kazakh for King,” he explains.
Among those suitably impressed with Kabirkhan’s Dubai exploits is his jockey Pat Dobbs. “Kabirkhan has got everything you want in a racehorse,” says Dobbs, who rides Kabirkhan every morning.
Good mover
“He’s such a good mover – he doesn’t feel like he’s doing what he does,” adds the rider. “He’s genuine, tough, and he’s got a bit of personality, too, which most of the good ones do. He makes Doug smile – we haven’t had many who work like him at home.”
A peek into the Watson barn offers a clue to how highly the trainer rates Kabirkhan, who is stabled directly opposite fellow stable star Isolate, the Godolphin Mile winner.
The eight-time UAE champion trainer raved about Kabirkhan prior to his Meydan debut and was even more enthusiastic after Kabirkhan gave him his first Thoroughbred G1 win in two decades of training.
“He looks a lot like his father, with the white legs and the big white face,” Watson explains. “He has a really nice way of going and using himself. When he works he has a nice cruising speed – a nice way of going without doing too much. That’s how he keeps himself in the race and then he has a nice kick in the end.”
As to the reaction, Watson believes he may never have trained a more popular horse, thanks to the level of interest in Kazakhstan. “The whole country is going mad for the horse,” he says. “Even a lot of people outside that. It’s just a good story for horse racing and hopefully we can keep that going.”
The next step for Kabirkhan is likely to be the G2 Al Maktoum Classic, on Super Saturday, March 2, before the $12m Dubai World Cup on March 30.
With defending champion Ushba Tesoro, fellow Japanese star Derma Sotogake and the best of America heading to Dubai for the big one, things will be much tougher. However, as Watson says, this is no ordinary colt. “If you watch this horse’s debut run, he was splashing through puddles, so it seems he can handle plenty,” he says.
From Kentucky to Kazakhstan to Russia to winning one of the biggest races the world? Kabirkhan is attempting what no horse has achieved before.
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