Thursday 16th January 2020
Author: Jordan Yates
Meydan kicks off this week at 2:30 with a six-furlong handicap on the turf and it’s a very competitive one at that with a sizeable field attracted. I’m going to side with Doug Watson’s ALMANAARA who’s to be ridden by Jim Crowley. He won a decent handicap here a couple of weeks ago when beating Caspian Prince by just over a length, and I think he could well build on that effort here. He will have to step up from that effort if he is to go again here but he gave the impression the last day that there could be a lot more to come from him.
ALMANAARA (4/1)
Next up is the 3:05 which is another six-furlong handicap this time on the dirt and once again we have a competitive, sizeable field. It’s another Doug Watson horse I like the look of here this time in the form of MY CATCH who’s set to be ridden by Pat Dobbs. He bounced back to form here in December when winning the SANAD Trophy be a couple of lengths and has some very solid form at the track. He’s plied his trade within top-level events around here in the past and has run very well in many of them, if returning to that sort of level in this particular affair he could prove a class above.
MY CATCH (4/1)
Moving onto the 3:40 which is a Listed Handicap, the Zabeel Turf. Contested over a distance of a mile and two furlongs it comes as no surprise that Godolphin have a very strong grasp on the race, dominating the market. I do think that that they’ll take the spoils here and with Saeed bin Suroor’s DREAM CASTLE who’s to be ridden by Christophe Soumillon. He’s been well travelled as of late and hasn’t been in the best of form, however last term he showed great form around this particular track. This is a slight ease in grade to what he’s generally been used to of late and within this company he should really be putting in a decent showing.
DREAM CASTLE (7/2)
The race that concludes my preview for Meydan this week is the 4:15 which is Group 2 event on the turf for Filles & Mares. I’m siding with the boys in blue once more here, and once again with Saeed bin Suroor and Christophe Soumillon. This is of course with four-year-old DUBAI BLUE who’s certainly one of the more unexposed types in the field. Her form to date is a bit in and out, however, when she was last seen back in April she won a Premier Handicap at Lingfield on the all-weather and won very well. She beat a decent field that day including some of today’s rivals and there’s every chance on the back of that there’s the more improvement to come.
DUBAI BLUE (4/1)
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