{"id":3955,"date":"2026-03-04T17:08:57","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T17:08:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=3955"},"modified":"2026-03-04T17:08:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T17:08:57","slug":"the-paddocks-horse-racing-pundits-stranded-in-dubai-with-missiles-flying-overhead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/?p=3955","title":{"rendered":"The Paddock&#8217;s horse racing pundits stranded in Dubai with &#8216;missiles flying overhead&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"The Paddock\u2019s horse racing pundits stranded in Dubai with \u2018missiles flying overhead\u2019\" width=\"620\" height=\"500\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"w-full object-cover rounded-md\" style=\"color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 620 500'%3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAACEN3D\/AAAAL0lEQVR42mP4z8DAwMiAARgZGJhY+P\/\/PwMDAwPDfwYGBgaGhgYGhgYGAAD9Hwlr5xRngAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg=='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\" src=\"https:\/\/cms.joe.co.uk\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Screenshot-2026-03-04-at-16.09.33.png?height=1024&amp;width=1024\"\/><!--$--><\/p>\n<p><h2><strong>\u201cAll a little bit surreal against the backdrop of seeing missiles in the sky and hearing explosions.\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose drop-cap \">\n<p>Things feel different this week \u2014 in the world, and on The Paddock.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>The weekly horse racing show, usually a lively around-the-table debate between Oli Bell, Nick Luck, Rishi Persad and Tom Stanley, took on a very different tone ahead of Cheltenham.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>What was meant to be an in-person special at Sandown quickly became something else entirely.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Top Tips for The Festival | Gordon Elliott | The Paddock Season 2 | EP 3\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KKAwsTZSRcY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Host Oli Bell addressed it immediately, saying: \u201cWelcome everyone to our Cheltenham Festival special of <em>The Paddock<\/em> where we had hoped to do it in person at Sandown but sadly the world had other ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Those &#8216;other ideas&#8217; were the airstrikes on Iran and the rapidly escalating conflict in the Middle East.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Regular contributors Rishi Persad and Tom Stanley have been stranded in Dubai since the weekend, after airspace closures grounded flights across the region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Speaking from the UAE, Rishi explained the strange limbo they\u2019ve found themselves in, saying: \u201cThere is no official word as to what&#8217;s happening. We have been, since Saturday, in limbo waiting for news on what&#8217;s going on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cAs things were progressing we were not entirely sure of the severity of it because obviously we were working.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cWe were aware that there were concerns about safety. We understood that there were missiles being launched and intercepted in the Gulf. The racing took place. Sheikh Mohammed turned up. Watched Rebel\u2019s Romance win. All a little bit surreal against the backdrop of seeing missiles in the sky and hearing explosions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>Despite the extraordinary circumstances, the racing continued, forming an eerie contrast between sport and geopolitics.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>But once airspace closed and airlines, including Emirates, cancelled flights, reality set in.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cSince Saturday night and the closure of the airspace, we have all been waiting for news as to when we can return home,\u201d Rishi said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cIt changes every day. Hopes get up and we are told to keep looking at your phones, register with the relevant authorities, and news will come through. But it\u2019s simply a case of waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>There is, at least, some comfort in shared experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cThe fact that we are together, obviously Tom is alongside me, it&#8217;s reassuring to have some company through it. Friends, colleagues.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cFor some people it\u2019ll be quite a hard experience being out here on your own, waiting for the news that you can finally go home to your friends and loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p>It\u2019s certainly not your usual episode of <em>The Paddock<\/em> \u2014 and a reminder that even in sport, the wider world has a way of intruding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><!--$--><!--\/$--><!--$--><\/p>\n<div class=\"custom-prose  \">\n<p><strong>Watch the full episode of The Paddock on YouTube or listen wherever you get your podcasts.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><!--\/$--><\/div>\n<p>#Paddocks #horse #racing #pundits #stranded #Dubai #missiles #flying #overhead<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cAll a little bit surreal against the backdrop of seeing missiles in the sky and hearing explosions.\u201d Things feel different this week \u2014 in the world, and on The Paddock. The weekly horse racing show, usually a lively around-the-table debate between Oli Bell, Nick Luck, Rishi Persad and Tom Stanley, took on a very different [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3794,2812,3353,259,3907,3904,3905,3354,3906],"class_list":{"0":"post-3955","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"tag-dubai","9":"tag-flying","10":"tag-horse","11":"tag-missiles","12":"tag-overhead","13":"tag-paddocks","14":"tag-pundits","15":"tag-racing","16":"tag-stranded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}