The eagerly-awaited $37million Dubai World Cup Carnival gets underway at Meydan tonight, the first of 11 meetings culminating in the Dubai World Cup on Saturday March 29.
The opening meeting is highlighted by the opening rounds of the Al Maktoum Challenge – and both the 2013 winners are back to defend their crown.
The Group 2 Thoroughbred version was won 12 months ago by Barbecue Eddie, trained by Doug Watson for Sheikh Hamdan and, as he did 12 months ago, he will sport the owner’s second silks under Dane O’Neill.
Watson said: “The horse is 10 now and owes us absolutely nothing but is in great form at home and has come on a bundle from his only previous run this season. He will hopefully run his normal, solid race in what looks a good renewal.”
O’Neill rides Barbecue Eddie because the owner’s first jockey, Paul Hanagan, chooses to ride Mufarrh, as he did last year when the pair were fifth behind Barbecue Eddie.
Both Godolphin trainers are represented and Charlie Appleby, who saddles Steeler, is having his first UAE runners having been granted a training license in the summer.
The four-year-old missed the whole of 2013, having been highly progressive as a two-year-old for Mark Johnston. His new trainer explained: “He is a nice horse and we are very pleased with him.
This is the ideal starting point after so long off and we expect him to run well but, whatever he achieves, he will certainly improve for the run.”
Fellow Godolphin trainer, Saeed bin Suroor, has won this race on no less than seven occasions but if he is to make it eight his runner, Shuruq, will need to make history as no filly has ever won the race.
The international challenge is headed by a pair trained by South African Mike De Kock, winner of this race twice in the past, in the shape of Rerouted and Daddy Long Legs.
However, the South African sounds less than optimistic, and said: “Our whole team is perhaps a month, even five weeks, behind where we normally are so they will both certainly improve from the run.”
Areem, trained by Majed Al Jahouri for Sheikh Mansoor bin Zayed Al Nahyan, defends his crown in the Group 1 Purebred Ara-bian version of Al Maktoum Challenge I, and looks the one to beat under Ahmed Ajtebi.
