Bred at the Dalham Hall Stud, on the outskirts of Newmarket, Dubai Millennium was originally named ‘Yaazer’, but was renamed by his owner, Sheikh Mohammed, as a two-year-old. As a juvenile, he was trained by David Loder in Newmarket, but ran just once, hacking up by five lengths, at long odds-on, in an ordinary maiden stakes race at Yarmouth in October, 1998.
Thereafter, Dubai Millennium was transferred to Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor and spent the winter at his Al Quoz Stables in Dubai before returning to Godolphin Stables in Newmarket in preparation for a three-year-old campaign. After two easy wins, again at odds-on, over a mile and a mile-and-a-quarter at Doncaster and Goodwood, the Seeking The Gold colt was sent off at 5/1 favourite for the Derby at Epsom. However, on his first attempt at Group One level and his one and only attempt over a mile-and-a-half, Dubai Millenium was found wanting, eventually trailing in a well-beaten ninth of sixteen behind Oath.
Nevertheless, dropped back in distance, Dubai Millenium won his next three starts, including the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. As a four-year-old, he reappeared in the Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum Challenge at Nad Al Sheba – his first attempt on dirt – again winning easily. In the Dubai World Cup, over the same course and distance, three weeks later, he produced a devastating display to beat Behrens and Public Purse by six lengths and five-and-a-half lengths. Dubai Millenium did not race again until June, when winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, impressively, by eight lengths. Supporters of the horse were no doubt rushing to thebetcalculator.com to calculate their winnings in advance of his next outing!
In August, 2000, ‘sabre-rattling’ between Sheikh Mohammed and Michael Tabor, owner of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes-winner Montjeu, led to the arrangement of a traditional, head-to-head match between the two colts, worth $12 million to the winner. The match was to take place over a mile-and-a-quarter, on turf, on a British racecourse within a month or two, but no sooner had it been announced, than Dubai Millenium suffered a career-ending injury in training. Dubai Millennium was awarded a Timeform Annual Rating of 140, which places him in co-eighth place, alongside such luminaries of the sport as Dancing Brave, Sea The Stars and Shergar, in the all-time list from the Timeform era.