Frankel and Dream Ahead, last season's joint-champion two-year-old colts in Europe, yesterday topped the entries for the English 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on April 30.
There are 59 entries in all for the 203rd running of the mile contest, seven of which are Group 1-winning colts.
Frankel won the Group 1 Dubai Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket on October, with Dream Ahead, owned by Epsom Derby-winning Khalifa Dasmal, an under-par fifth.
Only three champion two-year-old colts have gone on to win the 2000 Guineas since 1978, although David Simcock, the trainer of Dream Ahead, suggested his horse was on course to possibly improve that statistic.
"Physically, I couldn't be happier with the colt," Simcock said. "He has had a very good winter - he looks fantastic. He has matured, put a lot of weight on in the right places and he has started his training well."
Godolphin are well represented with eight horses, including Dubai Prince and Casamento, both trained by Mahmood al Zarooni, while Saeed bin Suroor's challenge is headlined by Saamidd. Intriguingly Splash Point, the UAE Derby winner, has also been entered.
The first British Classic of the season will form the opening leg of the inaugural British Champions' Series, an initiative set out in five racing categories which sees Dh75 million on offer throughout the season and which will culminate at Ascot on October 15.
The 1000 Guineas, contested the following day, is also included in the Champions Series and there were 79 entries for the fillies' Classic.
Godolphin have five entered in the race, with bin Suroor relying on the unbeaten White Moonstone and the UAE Oaks victor Khawlah, although the daughter of Cape Cross may miss the race due to her preparation for the English Oaks in June.
"White Moonstone is on course for the 1000 Guineas and she is in very good order at the moment," said bin Suroor. "She has developed well with a nice winter in Dubai and she looks in good condition.
"We have put her back into full training and she will do a gallop at the end of March before continuing with the serious work when she returns to Newmarket in early April. We will keep options open for Khawlah. We might start her off in the Musidora Stakes at York instead and take her season from there. She is another nice filly who is improving all the time."
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
Our Time Has Come
Alyssa Ayres, Oxford University Press
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
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