Meydan - Super Saturday

Betting open, not sure if MDK has runners

But see Al Sahem a runner ( 100/1 )

Betting available at WSB

SPACE BLUES a banker, ran 2nd when fancied to Toodarnhot!!!!

It has already been another remarkable Carnival for Charlie Appleby with 18 winners from 61 runners at a strike rate of nearly 30%, a figure that could have been greater but for multiple runners in many races. In his own words, none of that will count for much if they aren’t competitive come the latter end of the season, starting with Super Saturday, and he talks us through his likely team for trial night ahead of the Dubai World Cup.

SPACE BLUES (Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint)
“We could have gone to Saudi with him, but that would have meant 90 days in quarantine in Dubai after the race and that would have left us very tight for Royal Ascot, plus we felt we had two genuine contenders anyway for Saudi! Obviously, he has some very smart form as a three-year-old and we have to be thinking he can make a mark in the top sprints. This is the first port of call and it looks a very presentable opportunity for him.”

BARNEY ROY (Jebel Hatta)
“We always felt he would do well over here and made the perfect start with that easy win in the Al Rashidiya. He has a giant stride and can hopefully earn the right to run in the Dubai Turf. He can run up fairly light, so we don’t do a lot with him, in fact he had only had a couple of serious gallops prior to his reappearance. He will improve for that and should be hard to beat on Saturday.”

MAGIC LILY (Jebel Hatta)
“A lot of work has gone in to getting her back and she has justified that faith in a couple of wins so far out here. She has a Group 2 penalty now, so this is the obvious next port of call. We felt she would improve past the horse that nearly beat here in the Cape Verdi and she was duly more authoritative in the Balanchine. Obviously, a Group 1 will be good for her pedigree and we will see what we do with her after Saturday.”

SPOTIFY (Jebel Hatta or Al Maktoum Challenge)
“I was asked why he didn’t front run as is the normally the case behind Ghaiyyath last time, but had he tried to match strides with Ghaiyyath it would have killed him! Did well out here last season and is an honest type who should ply his trade in Europe again this year.”

YA HAYATI (Al Bastakiya)
“He has a dirt pedigree but that can be an experience game and to have gone straight on to that surface may have been counter-productive. Mentally hopefully he will be a lot stronger for that win on turf on his reappearance and he is now ready for it. By the time we get to the Al Bastikiya usually the fields have thinned out numerically which will help him as well although there do seem to be quite a few entries!”

FIRST NATION , LOXLEY , JALMOUD (Dubai City Of Gold)
“We wouldn’t have anything solid for the Dubai City Of Gold. This is a trial for the Sheema Classic which he have Ghaiyyath for anyway. Loxley has been disappointing and has certainly lost the winning habit whilst First Nation is a solid handicapper and probably nothing more. We did expect better from Jalmoud last time and that run was too bad to be true. We thought him capable of going for the St Leger last season and it could just be that big fields have exposed him. His form behind the likes of Headman and Japan is good and hopefully a smaller field on Saturday will see him to better effect.”

“Looking further ahead we will see how Cross Counter and Secret Advisor come out of their respective races last weekend before looking at the Dubai Gold Cup but Ispolini is on course for that. We felt he was our Melbourne Cup horse last year so obviously it was frustrating that we couldn’t run him, but he’s done well out here again and will go straight to the Gold Cup. Ghaiyyath has come out of his race well and we will rely on him in the Sheema. We had toyed with dirt but that could have done him more harm than good, and we are confident he is mentally growing up so don’t want to upset that. Hopefully a couple from our Super Saturday team also earn the right to represent us on the big night.”

Defoe is reported to be in excellent shape ahead of his long-awaited return in the Dubai City of Gold at Meydan on Saturday.

The six-year-old son of Dalakhani took his form to new heights last season, recording the first Group One victory of his career in the Coronation Cup at Epsom before going on to glory at Royal Ascot in the Hardwicke Stakes.

Although Defoe finished down the field on his final start of the season in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, trainer Roger Varian believes he will take plenty of beating in the Group Two prize, on his first start in seven months.

Varian said: “Defoe has been in great order since he got here. He did most of his work at home. Andrea (Atzeni) sat on him on Wednesday morning for a pre-race blow and he was pleased with the workout. I think he is in a good place.

“We would be expecting him to run well and hopefully run to a level that can book himself a ticket to the Sheema Classic.

“He is in stall two and we are happy coming out of that, but he is equally very straightforward. Andrea knows him very well and though it is a reasonable size field, hopefully there will be no excuses.”

While Defoe had performed admirably at Pattern-race level in the past, his exploits on the track last season came as little surprise to Varian.

He added: “He has always been a good horse, but he stepped up to another level last season in two prizes which are jolly hard to win.

“The Coronation Cup at Epsom has always been associated with top-class older horses and to win any race at Royal Ascot is hard, especially the Hardwicke against other Group One winners.

“If we go home and repeat that again, it would be great.”

David Simcock expects dual Grade One scorer Desert Encounter to benefit from the 12-furlong trip after being given a pipe-opener over two furlongs shorter on his seasonal return.

Simcock said: “He will come forward for his first run, which he always does, so we are expecting a much better run, but it is still going to be very competitive.

“It is a track that doesn’t really suit him as he has never performed terribly well there for some reason in the past, but that might be down to the time of year.

“Last time was stop-start, then they went fast and he got very tired, but that should have brought him on and this trip is much better than the mile and a quarter. We will give it our best shot before he comes back to England.”

Charlie Appleby will be triple-handed in the race, with First Nation, who has finished fourth in all three of his starts this year, the choice of stable jockey William Buick.

Appleby said: “It was one of those choices, William sided with First Nation as he has been very consistent throughout his Dubai career.

“He has unfortunately always met traffic problems with his run style, but he has bounced out of every run well and we felt he deserved to have a crack at it and try to get placed.”

While Jalmoud has been placed at the highest level in the past, Appleby feels he will need to produce that level of form if he is to figure on this occasion.

He said: “Looking at the form book, Jalmoud has been a bit inconsistent, but has got a fair level of ability when he channels it in the right direction.

“If he turns up with any part of his A game he will be an interesting horse, as he finished third to Japan and he is a proven Listed winner and Group One-placed.”

Loxley may have shown little in two starts this winter, but Appleby reports the five-year-old to be in a much better place now.

He said: “He has been a bit disappointing in Dubai so far for some reason and he is a bit of a head-scratcher really.

“The only thing I would say is that he looks as well as I’ve had him out there, and he goes there in a bit better health than he has been in.

“If he rekindles his A game, he would be bang there.”

The William Haggas-trained Pablo Escobarr completes the British interest in the race.