Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby is having another terrific spree at the Dubai Carnival and it will be a big surprise if he doesn’t plunder some of Thursday’s (20 February) big prizes on the seven-race simulcast programme.
Three Appleby-trained horses came good at last Thursday’s Meydan meeting and, at this meeting last year, he also won three races including the G2 Zabeel Mile with Mythical Magic and the G3 Dubai Millennium Stakes with Spotify. Those two will both run again in what looks like a mission to repeat those 2019 Meydan turf achievements.
However, even if neither of that pair win, Appleby could still mop up those two Stakes events via the highly-regarded Zakouski and G1 winner Ghaiyyath in the Zabeel Mile (1600m) and Dubai Millennium (2000m) respectively.
Zakouski is all about reputation but the manner in which the four-year-old suddenly quickened for jockey William Buick on just his third career start in a 1600m handicap here last month had plenty of racing professionals nodding in approval.
Ghaiyyath on the other hand has been there and done it, putting up an extraordinary performance when surging 14 lengths clear of his nearest rival in the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden at Baden-Baden last September. He then disappointed in the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at Longchamp in October but Appleby believes the horse had excuses.
“He couldn’t quicken on the slow ground in Paris, whilst history shows us that he goes well fresh and puts in big performances off a lay-off,” he said.
Those observations suggest Ghaiyyath might just put on another powerful show on Thursday.
One of his rivals is Desert Encounter who has been described by Newmarket trainer David Simcock as “the ideal horse to own”.
Facts and figures suggested that the now eight-year-old was at least as good as ever in 2019 when he won his last four starts including a second consecutive strike in the G1 Canadian International at Woodbine, employing his trademark late swoop.
Admittedly, it is his first run back and the 2000m turf trip is short of his usual targets but Simcock – whose horses are currently winning plenty of races back in the UK – suggests the veteran has some things going for him.
“Small fields and a flat track are everything he wants and it doesn’t matter whether the pace is fast or slow. It doesn’t affect him,” he said.
Meanwhile, Godolphin could also win the G3 UAE Oaks over 1900m on the dirt, represented by the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Dubai Love, a cosy 1600m Listed winner at Meydan last month. The filly does, however, face an interesting rival in Japanese raider Serein, who Yutaka Take has steered to win two of her four starts in Japan, the most recent win being at Nakayama last month.
