Ed Marnane
Ahmad bin Harmash’s stable star Dark Saffron, shock winner of the Golden Shaheen (Group 1) in April, is on a retrieval mission at Meydan’s first meeting of 2026 on Friday.
A comfortable winner of a minor event on his seasonal debut at Meydan at the beginning of November, he bombed out in the Al Garhoud Sprint (Listed). He dropped away tamely to finish last of seven behind El Nasseeb, trailing in nearly 32 lengths behind the surprise winner.
He got upset in the starting stalls and broke awkwardly. Dark Saffron scoped poorly after the race, another contributing factor to the worst performance of his career.
Dark Saffron, the mount of Connor Beasley, must concede weight to his six rivals in the Dubawi Stakes (Group 3) as he is given a quick opportunity to get his career back on track.
If he can shrug off his bitterly disappointing effort in the Al Garhoud Sprint four weeks ago, he can easily bounce back and play a leading role.
El Nasseeb, trained by in-form Musabbeh Al Mheiri, has his second run of the campaign after causing a surprise in the Al Garhoud Sprint on the back of a lengthy layoff.
Ridden patiently by Antonio Fresu, he was delivered fast and late to register his third win at Meydan in six appearances. He benefitted from a clever ride and the furious early pace when defeating Colour Up and Morning.
El Nasseeb is a lightly raced colt that has more to offer and should go close under Silvestre de Sousa.
Doug Watson, who enjoyed a double at Jebel Ali on Saturday, has his team in good form after a quiet start to the season. He runs Colour Up and Pat Dobbs rides.
The Mehmas gelding is back for another tilt at the race and will be hoping to finally bag the prize, having chased home Tuz last year, 12 months after running third behind the same rival in the 2023 renewal. He warrants respect over a track he clearly likes and it’s encouraging the stable are back in form.
Bhupat Seemar has a teriffic record in the Dubawi Stakes, winning the last three runnings. Drew’s Gold and Mufasa, the choice of stable jockey Tadhg O’Shea, gives Seemar a strong hand.
The South American-bred Mufasa, lightly raced for a six-year-old, made a respectable start to his campaign when fourth, beaten less than nine lengths, in the Al Garhoud Sprint, shaping as he would strip fitter for the race. Seemar has been banging in the winners at Meydan all season and has sent out eight winners at the track in December.
It would be unwise to ignore the claims of Drew’s Gold, impressive winner of a handicap, over the same course and distance of the Dubawi Stakes, on his return from an eight-month break.
Drawn out wide, he travelled powerfully before quickening clear of his rivals approaching the final 200m and won with plenty in hand. He is entitled to be sharper for the race, and Andrew Slattery rides.
Five of the 10 runners in the Zabeel Mile, the Group 2 highlight of the card, are trained overseas and of the quintet, Holloway Boy makes most appeal in a competitive renewal.
Trained by Karl Burke, he arrives in the Middle East in good heart having won the Listed Hyde Stakes at Kempton earlier in the month. Holloway Boy ran with credit in defeat at Meydan last season, most notably when beaten a short-head by Poker Face in the Zabeel Mile.
Simon and Ed Crisford are chasing back-to-back wins after Poker Face took the prize 12 months ago and run Quddwah, winner of half of his 12 starts. Owned and bred by Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, he has often run badly and disappointed connections, despite his excellent strike-rate.
However, he’s a useful performer on his day and demands obvious respect under the excellent James Doyle.
In an open looking event, Godolphin’s Aomori City has sound claims of giving Charlie Appleby a record seventh win in the race. By Oasis Dream, Aomori City is the youngest horse in the field and is held in high regard, having contested Group races since winning a minor event at Nottingham on his racecourse debut in June last year.
He is very unexposed and remains open to further improvement. I don’t fear fitness will be a worry back after a 236 day absence.
Appleby, operating at a 36% strike rate at Meydan this season, holds a typical strong hand in the Zabeel Turf, the opening race. He is responsible for four of the 14 runners and the Godolphin handler has historically dominated turf handicaps at Meydan.
William Buick has chosen to ride the lightly raced five-year-old Arabian Light, winner of three of his eight races. He has most to fear from his unexposed stable companions Alpine Trail, Bedouin Prince and King’s Charter.
Race 7, the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial, has attracted a maximum field of 16 and top-weight Legalaized is an interesting runner on his UAE debut for new trainer, Musabbeh Al Mheiri.
Unbeaten in two runs in Argentina, he is the highest rated runner in the field off a lofty mark of 101. He’s vulnerable from a wide draw off a seven month break, and preference is for Six Speed, trained by Bhupat Seemar. William Buick is an eye-catching booking for the US-bred colt, who left a modest debut well behind when winning over the track last month. He is nicely drawn in stall No 5 and has plenty of gate speed, a potent asset on dirt at Meydan.
SELECTIONS
Race 1
2 BEDOUIN PRINCE 1 ARABIAN LIGHT 3 KING’S CHARTER 7 ARCHIVIST
Race 2
3 WELCOME DREAM 1 DON PACIFICO 7 SIR HARMONY 8 SMART SYSTEM
Race 3
7 RABAAH 8 INDIAN SPRINGS 2 TWO TRIBES 5 RUN BOY RUN
Race 4
2 CATULLUS 6 TREANMOR 5 TITLE ROLL 7 DO OR DO NOT
Race 5
4 DREW’S GOLD 2 MUFASA 1 DARK SAFFORN 3 EL NASSEEB
Race 6
2 HOLLOWAY BOY 3 AOMORI CITY 1 QUDDWAH 9 ANDREAS VESALIUS
Race 7
8 SIX SPEED 6 LINO PADRINO 7 RAKAAN 1 LEGALAIZED
Race 8
5 ENDLESS VICTORY 2 BURDETT ROAD 7 GOYA SENORA 10 MEYDAAN
BEST BET
Race 7 No 8 Six Speed
Ed Marnane
Ahmad bin Harmash’s stable star Dark Saffron, shock winner of the Golden Shaheen (Group 1) in April, is on a retrieval mission at Meydan’s first meeting of 2026 on Friday.
A comfortable winner of a minor event on his seasonal debut at Meydan at the beginning of November, he bombed out in the Al Garhoud Sprint (Listed). He dropped away tamely to finish last of seven behind El Nasseeb, trailing in nearly 32 lengths behind the surprise winner.
He got upset in the starting stalls and broke awkwardly. Dark Saffron scoped poorly after the race, another contributing factor to the worst performance of his career.
Dark Saffron, the mount of Connor Beasley, must concede weight to his six rivals in the Dubawi Stakes (Group 3) as he is given a quick opportunity to get his career back on track.
If he can shrug off his bitterly disappointing effort in the Al Garhoud Sprint four weeks ago, he can easily bounce back and play a leading role.
El Nasseeb, trained by in-form Musabbeh Al Mheiri, has his second run of the campaign after causing a surprise in the Al Garhoud Sprint on the back of a lengthy layoff.
Ridden patiently by Antonio Fresu, he was delivered fast and late to register his third win at Meydan in six appearances. He benefitted from a clever ride and the furious early pace when defeating Colour Up and Morning.
El Nasseeb is a lightly raced colt that has more to offer and should go close under Silvestre de Sousa.
Doug Watson, who enjoyed a double at Jebel Ali on Saturday, has his team in good form after a quiet start to the season. He runs Colour Up and Pat Dobbs rides.
The Mehmas gelding is back for another tilt at the race and will be hoping to finally bag the prize, having chased home Tuz last year, 12 months after running third behind the same rival in the 2023 renewal. He warrants respect over a track he clearly likes and it’s encouraging the stable are back in form.
Bhupat Seemar has a teriffic record in the Dubawi Stakes, winning the last three runnings. Drew’s Gold and Mufasa, the choice of stable jockey Tadhg O’Shea, gives Seemar a strong hand.
The South American-bred Mufasa, lightly raced for a six-year-old, made a respectable start to his campaign when fourth, beaten less than nine lengths, in the Al Garhoud Sprint, shaping as he would strip fitter for the race. Seemar has been banging in the winners at Meydan all season and has sent out eight winners at the track in December.
It would be unwise to ignore the claims of Drew’s Gold, impressive winner of a handicap, over the same course and distance of the Dubawi Stakes, on his return from an eight-month break.
Drawn out wide, he travelled powerfully before quickening clear of his rivals approaching the final 200m and won with plenty in hand. He is entitled to be sharper for the race, and Andrew Slattery rides.
Five of the 10 runners in the Zabeel Mile, the Group 2 highlight of the card, are trained overseas and of the quintet, Holloway Boy makes most appeal in a competitive renewal.
Trained by Karl Burke, he arrives in the Middle East in good heart having won the Listed Hyde Stakes at Kempton earlier in the month. Holloway Boy ran with credit in defeat at Meydan last season, most notably when beaten a short-head by Poker Face in the Zabeel Mile.
Simon and Ed Crisford are chasing back-to-back wins after Poker Face took the prize 12 months ago and run Quddwah, winner of half of his 12 starts. Owned and bred by Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, he has often run badly and disappointed connections, despite his excellent strike-rate.
However, he’s a useful performer on his day and demands obvious respect under the excellent James Doyle.
In an open looking event, Godolphin’s Aomori City has sound claims of giving Charlie Appleby a record seventh win in the race. By Oasis Dream, Aomori City is the youngest horse in the field and is held in high regard, having contested Group races since winning a minor event at Nottingham on his racecourse debut in June last year.
He is very unexposed and remains open to further improvement. I don’t fear fitness will be a worry back after a 236 day absence.
Appleby, operating at a 36% strike rate at Meydan this season, holds a typical strong hand in the Zabeel Turf, the opening race. He is responsible for four of the 14 runners and the Godolphin handler has historically dominated turf handicaps at Meydan.
William Buick has chosen to ride the lightly raced five-year-old Arabian Light, winner of three of his eight races. He has most to fear from his unexposed stable companions Alpine Trail, Bedouin Prince and King’s Charter.
Race 7, the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial, has attracted a maximum field of 16 and top-weight Legalaized is an interesting runner on his UAE debut for new trainer, Musabbeh Al Mheiri.
Unbeaten in two runs in Argentina, he is the highest rated runner in the field off a lofty mark of 101. He’s vulnerable from a wide draw off a seven month break, and preference is for Six Speed, trained by Bhupat Seemar. William Buick is an eye-catching booking for the US-bred colt, who left a modest debut well behind when winning over the track last month. He is nicely drawn in stall No 5 and has plenty of gate speed, a potent asset on dirt at Meydan.
Race 1
2 BEDOUIN PRINCE 1 ARABIAN LIGHT 3 KING’S CHARTER 7 ARCHIVIST
Race 2
3 WELCOME DREAM 1 DON PACIFICO 7 SIR HARMONY 8 SMART SYSTEM
Race 3
7 RABAAH 8 INDIAN SPRINGS 2 TWO TRIBES 5 RUN BOY RUN
Race 4
2 CATULLUS 6 TREANMOR 5 TITLE ROLL 7 DO OR DO NOT
Race 5
4 DREW’S GOLD 2 MUFASA 1 DARK SAFFORN 3 EL NASSEEB
Race 6
2 HOLLOWAY BOY 3 AOMORI CITY 1 QUDDWAH 9 ANDREAS VESALIUS
Race 7
8 SIX SPEED 6 LINO PADRINO 7 RAKAAN 1 LEGALAIZED
Race 8
5 ENDLESS VICTORY 2 BURDETT ROAD 7 GOYA SENORA 10 MEYDAAN
BEST BET
Race 7 No 8 Six Speed
VALUE BET
Race 1 No 2 Bedouin Prince
BEST SWINGER
Race 6: 2 Holloway Boy and 3 Aomori City [Race 6]
JACKPOT
[Races 4-7]
R72
Leg 1: 2, 5, 6
Leg 2: 1, 2, 3, 4
Leg 3: 2, 3
Leg 4: 6, 7, 8
Race 1 No 2 Bedouin Prince
BEST SWINGER
Race 6: 2 Holloway Boy and 3 Aomori City [Race 6]
JACKPOT
[Races 4-7]
R72
Leg 1: 2, 5, 6
Leg 2: 1, 2, 3, 4
Leg 3: 2, 3
Leg 4: 6, 7, 8