Opening night of Meydan’s Racing Carnival sees strong raiding party

Early January is always an exciting time of year for fans of International Flat racing and the opening night of 2019’s Meydan Racing Carnival doesn’t disappoint from a quality perspective.

Team Godolphin enjoyed a remarkable 2018 season both in Dubai and further afield with wins in the Epsom Derby, Melbourne Cup and Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf for Charlie Appleby. The Newmarket handler wasn’t the only trainer retained by Sheikh Mohammed to enjoy success with Saeed Bin Suroor landing the Dubai World Cup for the eighth time in his illustrious career.

Thunder Snow sure to return to defend crown

Thunder Snow is sure to be back in Meydan to defend his crown when the Carnival draws to its conclusion on March 31st but there’s plenty of top class racing on a week by week basis in the interim and “the boys in blue” have no fewer than 16 runners on the opening night of the card, many of whom will be familiar to UK racing fans.

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Bin Suroor and Appleby have a strong hand in the opener (2.30) with Bin Battuta and Ispolini respectively. The former hasn’t been seen since his excellent second in the Melrose at York 495-days ago, but the absence should hold little fear for punters, particularly at this venue where his trainer regularly has them ready to go at the first time of asking.

Ispolini is another making his seasonal reappearance and Appleby’s charge has been gelded since he failed to make the Derby last summer. The four-year-old has been installed as the overnight favourite and both the Godolphin runners have been well found in the market, perhaps understandably so after the success the outfit had at last year’s Carnival.

David Simcock’s Appeared offers appeal

However, it may be worth taking a chance on one at an each-way price and it’s David Simcock’s new recruit, Appeared, who makes most appeal.

The son of Dubawi has produced his seasonal best performances first time out in recent years and his trainer wouldn’t be the type to tilt at windmills.

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Fast ground over one mile four furlongs are his optimum conditions and he’s an obvious pace angle in to the race from his workable draw (6). It would be no surprise to see him get competitive at these weights and with Richard Mullen booked to ride, a jockey who rides this course particularly well, the seven-year-old will lack nothing from the saddle.

The turf sprint (3.40) over the minimum trip is always a fascinating race on day one of the Carnival and last year’s runner-up Hit The Bid may be able to go one better without the ill-fated Ertijaal in the line-up. However, he’s been well found in the market and the speedster isn’t guaranteed to get his own way in front. With that in mind, a watching brief is advised.

Hopes high for Above The Rest

In the Group 3 dirt sprint (4.15) on the card, there’s another UK runner representative who might be worth following this winter if he takes to the new surface.

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Above The Rest has largely been plying his trade on turf in recent years but he showed a liking for the synthetic surface at Newcastle when winning a Group 3 at the Northumberland Plate meeting and he wasn’t beaten far when denied a clear run at Lingfield last time out at Pattern level.

While there’s no doubting dirt will be a different test, there’s certainly hope in the eight-year-old’s pedigree he will take to the surface (dam’s sire a Breeders’ Cup Classic winner) and he’s shown enough gate speed to suggest he may not have to face the kickback here.

It’s a winnable renewal of the race and David Barron’s runner rates as a fascinating contender, available to back at 6/1.

Selections:

Appeared 12/1 – Meydan 2.30
Above The Rest 6/1 – Meydan 4.15