Barney Roy returns for G2 Al Rashidiya; Dee Ex Bee make debut in Meydan Cup

G1 winners Barney Roy and Dream Castle feature among four Godolphin contenders in the nine-furlong G2 Al Rashidiya, highlight of this week’s Dubai World Cup Carnival fixture at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday.

Barney Roy (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) broke the round mile course record at Ascot when taking the G1 St James’s Palace Stakes during a superb 2017 UK campaign that also saw him go down by a nose in the G1 Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park.

The six-year-old made three appearances last year and followed up a Listed victory over a mile at Longchamp, France, in May with an eighth placing over the same distance in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

On Thursday, the son of Excelebration is set to return in Meydan’s $250,000 Al Rashidiya (G2), a race won by the likes of Right Approach, Presvis and Benbatl, who all went on to win the Dubai Turf sponsored by DP World (G1).

Barney Roy breaks from the outside post seven on Thursday. William Buick will be in the saddle against a field that includes G1-winning defending champ Dream Castle, G2-winning stablemate Loxley and G1-placed Mike de Kock trainee Majestic Mambo.

Dream Castle (Saeed Bin Suroor/Christophe Soumillon) finished behind Barney Roy in the Queen Anne Stakes but the six-year-old was one of the stars of last year’s Dubai World Cup Carnival, with three impressive turf wins over nine furlongs.

After capturing the G3 Singspiel Stakes, the son of Frankel effortlessly captured the G2 Al Rashidiya before recording a smooth success in the G1 Jebel Hatta Sponsored By Emirates Airline on Super Saturday. He makes his second appearance of the 2019 Carnival after coming home seventh in the 10-furlong Listed Zabeel Turf handicap on Thursday, Jan.16. The duo are joined by Mountain Hunter (Suroor/Pat Cosgrave) and Loxley (Appleby/James Doyle), who were separated by a nose when fighting out a thrilling finish to a 12-furlong Listed race at Newmarket, UK, in September.

Both horses drop down in distance following Listed handicap outings earlier in the Carnival, with Mountain Hunter finishing fifth in the 10-furlong Dubai Racing Club Classic on week one and Loxley coming home down the field in the Zabeel Turf.

Appleby said: “Barney Roy has enjoyed a nice break since the summer and the Dubai World Cup Carnival has been the long-term plan, with the aim of working back from the Jebel Hatta. We are hoping for a bit of improvement on whatever he does this week but he is the class horse in the field and should run well. “Loxley was a bit free on his latest start and we are hoping that the drop back down in trip will suit. We will try to ride him forwardly and hope that he can rediscover some of last year’s form.”

Suroor said: “Dream Castle was disappointing on his first start of the year but came out of the race in good order and has been working well at home.”

“Mountain Hunter is a Listed winner in the UK and needed the race last time. He has won around Meydan before and is ready to go again.”

Thursday’s other turf feature is the 14-furlong Meydan Cup, in which Dubhe, Secret Advisor and Dubai Horizon take on Dee Ex Bee, who established himself as one of Europe’s top stayers last year with a string of fine efforts. The highest-rated horse to compete at Meydan will be one of the most appropriately named to make his UAE debut, Crown Prince of Dubai Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al Maktoum’s Dee Ex Bee.

Dubhe (Brett Doyle) was a decisive winner of a two-mile handicap at last year’s Carnival and the five-year-old makes his seasonal return for Charlie Appleby after coming home 12th over the same trip in the G1 Sydney Cup at Randwick, Australia, in April.

Stable companion Secret Advisor (Tadgh O’Shea) won the 14-furlong Melrose Heritage Handicap at York, UK, in 2018 but failed to shine in two starts last year.

Godolphin is well-represented in both of Thursday’s turf handicaps, with progressive four-year-old Land Of Legends (Suroor/ Soumillon) making his Meydan debut in a mile contest.

Meanwhile, as much as Satish Seemar has dominated the Dubawi Stakes (G3) on Dubai World Cup Carnival opening night (five victories with three different horses), rival conditioner Doug Watson has done much of the same in the Al Shindagha Sprint (G3) four weeks later over the same 1200m trip and with an identical $200,000 purse.

The master of Red Stables—winner of the past three Al Shindaghas with three separate horses—will look to continue his streak when he saddles Misty Hollow Farm’s defending champ, Drafted, against Seemar’s Dubawi winner and expected market favourite, Gladiator King.

“He was a little ring-rusty and broke really slow in the Dubawi,” Watson explained.