Godolphin Mile (Dirt)
Fresh from victory in the Turf Sprint at Riyadh, Yoshito Yahagi's Bathrat Leon was beaten to fourth by Inspiral in the Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville last August. That followed a UK appearance at Goodwood, where he was pushed to fourth by Baaeed, Modern Games and Alcohol Free. Bhupat Seemar enters Discovery Island, Law Of Peace and Royal Mews, while Ahmed Al Shemaili trains Desert Wisdom, who has winning experience on the dirt at Meydan. Elsewhere, look out for Brazilian trainer Antonio Cintra's entry Atletico El Culano.
Dubai Gold Cup (Turf)
With Broome and Trawlerman in the mix, this is set to be a classic clash of the continents. Broome, who runs for Aidan O'Brien, won the Hardwicke Stakes at Ascot, before being left to last in the Irish Champions Stakes, and only eighth in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Hong Kong Vase. He also failed to follow up on his 2021 Breeders Cup Turf success. Ebor-winning Trawlerman, meanwhile, who runs for the Gosdens and Godolphin, has little to prove, despite falling short of Trueshan in the Champions Long Distance last October. Christophe Soumillon, meanwhile, takes the ride of Bahrain regular Passion And Glory, who secured second to Dubai Future in the Bahrain International, and followed up in a listed race there two weeks back. Look out too for Charlie Appleby's Global Storm, who's racked successes both here and at Newmarket.
UAE Derby (Dirt)
Cairo is a new name for many, but this Coolmore entry has already seen two-year-old success at Dundalk, Leopardstown and The Curragh. Es-Unico comes via changed trainers and attention in his native Uruguay, while Continuar is the hopes of Japan, having run only once (when he was fifth to Commissioner King in the Saudi Derby). Our ambassador, Frankie Dettori, will be aboard Bob Baffert's Worcester, while Oisin Murphy takes a ride on the other Japanese entry: unraced Perriere.
Dubai Turf (Turf)
This is a real hot pot of big names, with Danon Beluga running for Noriyuki Hori, Do Deuce for Yasuo Tomomichi, El Drama for Roger Varian and Lord North for the Gosdens. As if that wasn't enough, there's Charlie Appleby's Nations Pride, along with Aidan O'Brien's Order Of Australia and William Knight's Sir Busker, who so impressed when beating Dubai Honour by a nose at York last summer. Do Deuce won last year's Japanese Derby, but was left at second last in the Arc last autumn. El Drama, meanwhile, won the 2021 Chester Dee Stakes, reigning two-time champion Lord North has just secured the Lingfield Winter Derby (additions to wins that include the 2019 Cambridgeshire and 2020 Prince of Wales at Ascot), and Nations Pride has seen success on three continents, including the Saratoga Derby last summer. Order Of Australia still has work to do since his Curragh two-time in the Minstrel, while Danon Beluga didn't disappoint when tipped-up for the Japan Cup in November, departing with third.
Sheema Classic (Turf)
ITV have jumped in by this point, giving you live UK coverage. Enjoy Ralph Beckett's Irish Derby winning Westover take on recent Saudi Arabia success story Mostahdaf, while Charlie Appleby's Rebels Romance arrives the one to catch, with a Breeders Cup Turf, Preis von Europa and Grosser Preis von Berlin (not to mention last year's UAE Derby) under his belt. Russian Emperor comes fresh from a win in Qatar last month, while Takahisa Tezuka's Win Marilyn took December's Hong Kong Vase from Botanik, who also runs in this for André Fabre. Don't forget Tetsuya Kimura's Equinox, who'll have Christophe Lemaire on board, and Hideaki Fujiwara's Japan Cup second (and reigning champion) Shahryar.
Dubai World Cup (Dirt)
With a field of fifteen, last year's winner Country Grammer (who gave our ambassador his fourth victory in the World Cup) has headed here straight from Riyadh, where he came home late for second in the Saudi Cup. Third that day, Café Pharoah flies in with Noriyuki Hori, while sixth-placed Emblem Road runs for native Saudi Arabian trainer Ahmad Abdulwahed. Ultimately, however, they'll all be chasing new kids on the block: Japan Cup winning Vela Azul (Ryan Moore skips the ride in favour of Jun Light Bolt) and Yoshito Yahagi's Saudi Cup winning Panthalassa. Can Country Grammer do it again (only Thunder Snow has managed a double, in 2018 and 19)? Victory remains probable, far from certain.
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