Season debut for Mubtaahij

Mubtaahij is the star attraction at Meydan tonight when he makes his eagerly-awaited comeback in the Listed Curlin Handicap, named in honour of the 2008 Dubai World Cup winner.

Runner-up in last year’s Dubai World Cup, Mubtaahij enjoyed a decent campaign in America after chasing home the mighty Calfornia Chrome in the world’s richest race in March, with the clear standout performance when beaten a neck by Shaman Ghost in the Grade 1 Woodward Stakes at Saratoga in August for Kiaran McLaughlin.

Back in the UAE under the care of Mike de Kock, Mubtaahij should relish the drop in class for his seasonal debut and is fancied to cement his claims as a leading contender for next month’s $10m Dubai World Cup.

Alain Royre-Dupre, fresh from winning last week’s Dubai Mil­lennium Stakes with the impres­sive Zarak, can continue his good run by winning the Nad Al Sheba Trophy, the Group 3 trial for the Dubai Gold Cup, the stayer’s $1m showpiece on the World Cup un­dercard.

Classy French stayer Vazirabad represents the French trainer, who has a superb strike-rate in Dubai, and the classy five-year-old stayer has the assistance of the red-hot Christophe Soumillon, the leading Carnival.

Sheikhzayedroad, trained by David Simcock, won this race two years ago and is a smart stayer who is effective under these con­ditions. Winner of the Doncaster Cup and British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in the sec­ond half of the season last year, he rates a threat in a race not many appeal despite the yard’s poor form at Meydan this season.

Really Special is on a retrieval mission in the Meydan Classic af­ter bombing out badly when fail­ing to meet market expectations in the UAE 1000 Guineas, losing her unbeaten record when finish­ing a disappointing fifth. Switch­ing to turf, the Godolphin-owned filly is fancied to bounce back and give trainer Saeed bin Suroor a fourth victory in the $100,000 contest.

Godolphin pair Fly At Dawn and Top Score present the biggest threat to Really Special, along with the once-raced Nobelium, representing Kuwaiti handler Rashed Bouresly. The booking of Christophe Soumillon is eye-catching for the Sky Mensa geld­ing, which was narrowly denied in the Meydan Classic Trial two weeks ago.

The UAE Oaks doesn’t look a strong renewal and the unbeaten Nashmiah, shock winner of the UAE 1000 Guineas on her local debut, looks a big player under Mickael Barzalona, a jockey who’s riding at the top of his game at Meydan this season.

Racing closes with a competi­tive 1400m turf handicap and De Kock holds a decent hand, sad­dling four of the 14 runners. Of the quartet preference is for Suy­oof, the mount of Jim Crowley for his main employer Sheikh Ham­dan Al Maktoum.

Bred in Australia, he went into many notebooks when a fast-fin­ishing second behind Bravo Zolo on his local debut after a lengthy layoff. Drawn out wide he recov­ered from a tardy start, putting in his best work at the finish to beat­en 1.50 lengths behind the winner. He will be sharper for the race and isn’t badly drawn tonight, jump­ing from stall No 7.

Brave Zolo, sporting the first silks of Godolphin, should be thereabouts for Charlie Appleby, along with Oh This Is Us¸ trained by Richard Hannon. He gave the impression he would have won on his Meydan debut recently only for suffering a trouble passage in the closing stages in a similar event.