Tragedy at the Dubai World Cup Undercard races

The death of Dubai Golden Shaheen winner, Zenden, has created a commotion amongst riders and public at the Dubai World Cup. The horse suffered a severe leg injury past the finish of the dirt race. He led the way throughout the 1,200-meter (six-furlong) event and set a track record at 1:09.01.

Zenden was a 5-year-old son of Fed Biz. The jockey Antonio Fresu found out something was wrong with Zendan split seconds after crossing the finish line. With a clear severe injury to his front leg, he was euthanized minutes later on the track to the shock of spectators. 

This was the first race that Zenden was winning in his 15th career start. Antonio Fresu gave the horse a celebratory slap on the neck. This caused Zenden to stumble, throwing the jockey to the ground. Jockey Fresu dodged horses to escape unharmed from the course.

Owned by LLP Performance Horse LLC, Zenden was trained by Carlos David, former assistant to horseman Jason Servis. David won his first race as head trainer in November 2018 and ever since has won over 52 races. The $1.5 million Golden Shaheen with Zenden was going to become his new challenge.

“There’s no celebration or anything like that; I’m devastated” trainer Carlos David stated. “I would rather not win the race and have my horse back, a thousand times. […] No money, no trophy is going to bring my horse back.”

Zenden put on a pair of three-furlong works at Tampa before shipping for the Golden Shaheen. This was his first start at the grade 1 level. He will be missed in the equestrian sports world and in the racing scene. 

If you are interested, we have our list of top 5 famous horses in equestrian history. Read it HERE.