Carnival hopefuls will be on display on Sunday, when Meydan Racecourse stages its second afternoon meeting of the season, with all seven races sponsored by Al Tayer Motors.
With Godolphin sitting this one out, the locally-based handlers have their time to shine, and several will be hoping for good runs from their charges to elevate them to the 90 rating needed to qualify for the Dubai World Cup Carnival.
A field of nine has been declared for the official feature, the Land Rover Handicap, over 2400metres on turf. They include the Ismail Mohammed-trained Rastrelli, a good third on seasonal debut in December at Abu Dhabi, as well as Good Tidings, a winner overvthis course and distance when last in action in April.
Of Rastrelli, Claude Piccioni, Assistant Trainer to Ismail Mohammed, said: “I thought he was going to win with the claim last time out. Now we have Mickael Barzalona, one of the world’s best jockeys, but we don’t have the claim!
“This horse, he gives you one good run and then… [he can disappoint]. But everyone is happy with him, so let’s see what happens on Friday.”
Waiting in opposition is Just You Wait, who switches to the turf after making a winning seasonal debut on dirt in November, his sole start this campaign.
“He’s a nice horse to have in the stable,” said Musabbeh Al Mheiri, trainer of Just You Wait. “He has improved since last year and seems to be going in the right direction. We want to see how he has progressed from his last run, but we’re very hopeful.”
