History was made on the final meeting of the year at Meydan Racecourse when Measured Time became the first horse to win two runnings of the G2 Al Rashidiya (sponsored by Emaar).

The star turn on a loaded ‘Festive Friday’ card, dual Group 1 winner Measured Time was the best horse of the meeting on paper and proved it here. He poured it on from the front, winning by seven lengths from Cairo and breaking the track record set by Just A Way in 2014, covering the 1800metres on turf in 1:45.11.

It was a fourth win in this race for trainer Charlie Appleby, and a third for jockey William Buick, who was concerned that his mount did it ‘too well.’

“It felt a little bit too good!” he said. “He’s super competitive and I was happy to lead with him, but we didn’t need to put in that big a performance to win. But that’s what you get with him; he’s a high energy, exuberant horse.

“He’s proved himself at the top level both here and in America – he’s a class horse and hopefully there’s some improvement to come from that.”

While the Al Rashidiya went to script, there was a minor upset in the G2 Al Maktoum Mile (sponsored by Emaar), worth AED1million, when Meshtri beat some big names.

Trained by Michael Costa, Meshtri was gritty when winning the Listed Dubai Creek Mile last time, but was emphatic here under Ben Coen, dictating the pace and extending in the straight for a comfortable three-length victory over Qareeb. The well-touted Artorius and Clapton had to settle for third and fifth, respectively.

“He came out of the Dubai Creek Mile really well,” said Coen of the winner. “He was stronger at home, felt fresh, and we were very confident coming into the race. There were a couple of talking horses, but we wouldn’t have swapped our lad.

“He’s comfortable at a mile but his pedigree suggests he could get further.”

Costa and Coen later completed a double when Keffaaf outbattled stablemate Asaassi in the Dubai Racing Club Classic, over 2400metres on turf.