Costa's rebuilding of Jebel Ali is paying off
Michael Lee
Three seasons into his arrival as the only Australian racehorse trainer in Dubai, Michael Costa has already established himself as a household name.
Hardly a week goes by without the distinctive all-yellow silks and black epaulettes of his patron, Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, deputy chief of Dubai police and public security, crossing the line first, be it at Meydan, his home track of Jebel Ali, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain or Sharjah.
But while every trainer's motto is to saddle as many winners as possible, nobody can begrudge the former Gold Coast trainer from chasing bigger dreams.
The 37-year-old can certainly afford to, going on the way he has breathed new life into the once-battling Jebel Ali Stables, no doubt made possible by the high-quality horseflesh now filling its boxes.
The proof of the pudding is still in the results on the tracks, and Costa is clearly champion material.
After losing a first premiership title by a whisker to Bhupat Seemar (36 to 37) at his sophomore season in 2023-24, Costa hopes to go one better this term.
Past the halfway point, he currently tops the table on 28 winners, three clear of Musabbeh Al Mheiri and four clear of Seemar.
Costa would not count his chicks about getting third-time lucky, but he would rather be in the driving seat than doing the chasing.
"It's not daunting (to be the leader). You'd rather be there than not being there," he said.
"I can't put too much of a target on my back as it would probably be an added pressure to continue. We've just got to turn the horses out the best we can.
"The results will just take care of themselves. If we're there at the end of the season, it'll be a great achievement.
"It was pretty frustrating to finish runner-up by only one win. We had half the amount of runners as the bigger stables, so statistically, it was a strong season (strike rate of 24 per cent).
"But now that we've had a sniff of it, it's definitely something we want to tick off.
"We still don't have the big numbers as the other stables, but we're packing a punch, and I think if it doesn't happen this year, we'll make it happen in the years to come."
Costa said that with the sheikh's backing, it was always a well-orchestrated plan to reinvent the Jebel Ali name into one of the big players.
"We're still a stable which is rebuilding. It's definitely nowhere near the finished product," he said.
"We had to completely start again, buying yearlings. The first yearlings we purchased were only a small portion – 10 yearlings at relatively cheap market values.
"They've just turned four, so we're a very young stable and the best is yet to come.
"We started off the season with 75, but we've got 60 horses in work. We get some tried horses who come in and just need an extra season to settle in before we can get on with it."
A first title would sit well on his mantelpiece, but the other cherry on the top would be a marquee Group 1 win.
"We're tracking well, but the goal this season is also to win more of the Group races on the bigger nights," he said.
"We've achieved that with some really good Group winners this season, which has been great.
"But it'd be great to see us competing on the big nights against the bigger stables, and being competitive. That's what it's all about."
At the Dubai World Cup in 2024, he had high hopes for Bilhayl in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m), but had to settle for fourth place to California Spangle.
Mouheeb, another horse he rated highly, could finish only eighth to Tuz in the Group 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (1,200m).
With the 2025 Dubai World Cup two months away on April 5, he is aiming to go into the world's single richest race day with a three-pronged attack.
"Meshtri is still a horse that I think is worth watching on the big nights. He pulled up a little bit stiff in the Firebreak Stakes (1,600m) on Jan 24, but he's a classy horse who will get up to the Godolphin Mile," he said.
"Keffaaf has been a revelation for the stable. He's done a great job on the turf races, and can potentially go to the Dubai Gold Cup over two miles.
"Marbaan has been great, he chugged down a little on the night (Jan 24). Most likely he will head to Saudi or Super Saturday, he will bounce back."
manyan@sph.com.sg
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