Attendance at Britain’s 59 racecourses reached a record 6.15 million in 2011, the third time it has cracked the six-million level and first time since 2004.

The figures were announced on Tuesday by the Racecourse Association, the trade association for Britain’s racecourses. The previous record was 6.048 million set in 2004. There were more than 1,500 racing days in Britain last year, which attracted an average crowd of 4,187.

First City, third in two group stakes in England last year, caught Mahbooba in the final strides to win Friday’s $200,000 Cape Verdi Stakes over about a mile on turf at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

The Cape Verdi Stakes, for fillies and mares, was First City’s first stakes win and her first start since September, in England.

The nose victory under jockey Royston Ffrench could lead to a start for the 6-year-old mare in the $5 million Dubai Duty Free Stakes against males on the Dubai World Cup undercard on March 31, trainer Ali Rashid Al Raihe said.

Mahbooba, a 5-year-old mare trained by Michael de Kock, can win her second race of the month when she starts as the leading contender in Friday’s $200,000 Cape Verdi Stakes over about a mile on turf at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.

Mahbooba won the Al Rashidiya Trial at Meydan on Jan. 5, her first start in Dubai following a 2011 campaign in Europe that included a stakes win at Newmarket, England.

So You Think, a multiple Group 1 stakes winner in Australia and Europe in the last two years, is being pointed for the $10 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan Racecourse on March 31.

Anne-Marie O’Brien, the wife of trainer Aidan O’Brien, announced the Dubai World Cup as a goal for So You Think through her Twitter account on Sunday. In the past, the O’Briens have relayed information about their stable’s top horses through Twitter.

Musir scored a decisive victory in the $200,000 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 on Thursday night at Meydan in Dubai, but it was his stablemate, Master of Hounds, who took a solid step toward the Dubai World Cup with a runner-up finish.

The first round of the Al Maktoum Challenge tops Thursday night’s race card at Meydan in Dubai, and topping the first round of the Al Maktoum Challenge – at least in terms of interest – is Master of Hounds, who drew on the far outside of a 12-horse field entered in the one-mile race over the main track’s Tapeta surface.

Frankel, the undefeated English miler, topped the final 2011 World Thoroughbred Rankings compiled by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities and released Tuesday.

Mahbooba, a 5-year-old mare facing males, closed from off the pace to win Thursday’s $125,000 Al Rashidiya Trial on the opening evening of the Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates.

The 16-day Dubai World Cup carnival begins at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, with the $125,000 Al Rashidiya Trial over about 1 1/8 miles on turf as the highlight of the program.

The carnival season culminates with the Dubai World Cup program on March 31.

In advance of March 31, the carnival features 23 races worth $100,000 or more, including seven stakes worth $175,000 to $400,000 on March 10, a program billed as a Super Saturday of preps for the Dubai World Cup program.