The spotlight will once again fall on Godolphin's horses when they make their appearance at the Dubai Carnival this weekend. The Dubai operation has 11 runners challenging for four of the eight prizes that are up for grabs in Friday’s meeting at Meydan.
Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby has Arabian Light and First Conquest, while Saeed bin Suroor sends out Ghaly in the Lord North Handicap, the official feature of the card for horses rated 90-110 run over the 1,800-metre trip on the turf.
Arabian Light, making his debut at Meydan, is the choice of Appleby’s stable jockey William Buick and should be taken as a serious challenger for the Dh350,000 prize.
The four-year-old Kingman gelding arrives on the back of two victories after being placed second on his racecourse debut in the UK last summer.
Mickael Barzalona rides First Conquest, who made a winning debut and then bounced back to his second success in his last start after finishing fourth and fifth respectively in his other two starts.
Ghaly returned to action after more than a year to finish seventh at Doncaster last September and the nine-year-old gelding by Charm Spirit with seven career victories under his belt merits consideration.
Among the challenges for the Godolphin trio is the defending champion Ouzo, who finished ahead of Ghaly, also in his last start.
“It’s great to have him back here in an attempt to retain his Lord North crown,” trainer Jamie Osborne said of Ghaly, piloted by Adrie de Vries.
“He’s been training well, and on all known evidence, this course, distance and the Dubai air brings out the best in him.”
Osborne also runs a new recruit in See Hector, who has been purchased by leading Emirati owner Malih Al Basti specifically for the Carnival.
A Group 3 winner in Germany when trained by Henk Grewe, See Hector will be ridden by Pat Dobbs.
“He hasn’t been with us very long,” Osborne added. “Friday will show us where we are with him.”
Ouzo’s rivals include last year’s second Silent Film, back for a fourth Carnival for trainer Ian Williams, and Galen, gelded since finishing eighth in a Group 2 at Leopardstown in September. He lines up for multiple Group 1-winning trainer Joseph O’Brien, who is yet to have a Dubai winner in five attempts.
Trainer Dylan Cunha runs Silver Sword, who makes a quick return having finished eighth of 15 in his first run at Meydan.
“Silver Sword was disappointing last week but got boxed in twice when he was in a good rhythm and needed to make a run, which I feel cost him,” his trainer said of the five year old.
“He’s a thinker and that was too much for him. I do feel we could have been third or fourth there.
“Friday is a lot tougher and he’s going to have to up his game to run well. He’s taken the race well and I’ve freshened him up into this week and he looks great. Ray [Dawson, jockey] has sat on him a few times over the past five weeks so knows him fairly well.”
Godolphin’s runners spread across the other races are the Appleby-trained Symbol Of Honour and Bin Suroor’s Midnight Thunder in the Al Wasl Stakes.
“Dropping back to six furlongs isn’t a concern for Symbol Of Honour, and you can put a line through his last run as he didn’t enjoy the soft ground,” Appleby said of the Havana Grey gelding.
“He put up a good performance at Doncaster and goes into this with the highest rating in the field. His preparation has gone well and he looks to hold a live chance.”
Bin Suroor added: “This is a good opportunity to see how much Midnight Thunder has improved since last year. It’s a nice race for him and I’m looking forward to a good run.”
Creative Story Olympic Candle and Emperor’s Star in the second race, and Regal Connection and Kalidasa in the eighth and final race complete Godolphin’s campaign on the night.
