Golden Shaheen champ back at Meydan

Ed Marnane

Dark Saffron, shock 40-1 winner of the Golden Shaheen, is the headline act when he makes his eagerly awaited comeback on an all dirt card at Meydan on Friday, the opening fixture of the new season at Dubai’s iconic track.

Ahmad bin Harmash’s stable star, the mount of Connor Beasley, has not been seen since causing a massive surprise when defeating Nakatomi and 2024 winner Tuz in the Group 1 dirt sprint showpiece on the Dubai World Cup undercard in April.

He faces just four rivals in the opening race, the 1200m conditions race on dirt, and is confident selection to justify long odds-on on his first appearance in seven months.

Race 5, the 1600m Handicap, is the most valuable race on the card and looks wide-open. Jebel Ali-based Australian trainer Michael Costa has started the season with a bang, saddling three winners at his local track Jebel Ali last Saturday before Faattik took Costa’s tally to six for the new campaign at Abu Dhabi Turf Club 24 hours later.

He saddles lightly raced Arabic Legend, winner of one of his seven runs in the UK for Karl Burke.

He makes his UAE/dirt debut returning from a lengthy layoff having been off the track since contesting a barrier trial at Meydan in January. Being by Dubawi, he is bred for dirt but with doubts over his fitness, he can be opposed, despite the terrific form of the stable.

Al Jaddaf, the choice of Beasley, looks the main hope of Ahmad bin Harmash’s three runners. A winner over the course and distance, he has sound claims of snapping a lengthy losing run and registering his first win since December 2023.

Of the others, top-weight Mount Kosciuszko, Cupid’s Dream and Million D’Oro all merit respect, as the trio are proven under the conditions and hail from yards that can have them primed and ready after a break.

UAE Oaks runner-up Arigatou Gozaimasu makes her seasonal/handicap debut. She could be dangerous if allowed an uncontested lead and has the advantage of being drawn near the rails. She can break fast and should not be ignored.

Race 3, the opening juvenile race of the season, has attracted field of 10 unraced two-year-olds. Former champion trainer Bhupat Seemar introduces US-bred Six Speed, the mount of stable jockey Tadhg O’Shea and sourced a Tattersalls Craven Breeze-Up Sale in April.

By top US dirt sire Not This Time, he caught the eye winning a recent barrier trial at Meydan. Always handy, he drew clear of his eight rivals in the closing stages to score in comfortable fashion in the fastest time of the day. A wide draw (No 10) is not a concern and he will be hard to beat.

Earlier on the card, the 1400m maiden looks an interesting race as four of the 10 runners bring decent European form, but have obvious fitness concerns off their lengthy absences, while the switch to dirt is clearly a query.

Of the quartet, unexposed Vino Sauro gets the vote for trainer Jamie Osborne. The US-bred son of Vino Rosso, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic, showed promise on his racecourse debut at Southwell in April.

He showed signs of greenness but kept on nicely in the closing stages to finish an encouraging third behind Dixieland Band. He is open to plenty of improvement and his pedigree suggests, he will relish switching to dirt on his UAE debut.

The action ends with a 10-runner handicap, over a 1600m, Race 7. Danish import Dark Stream, the top weight, faces stiff task on his seasonal debut and is readily dismissed on his first start on Meydan’s main track for new trainer Veronika Jandova. Gamekeeper, a winner over the course and distance, seeks a second win at Meydan and enters calculations under Beasley.

The Blue Point gelding isn’t badly handicapped and this looks a good opportunity to take his UAE tally to two.

UAE champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa is an eye-catching booking for the Brazilian-bred Norato, trained by Julio Olascoaga.

He rounded off his campaign last season when finishing a good second in a competitive 15-runner at Meydan in March, his best run since arriving in the Emirates. A lightly raced colt, he has more to offer and is ideally berthed in stall No 1.

O’Shea-ridden Perfect Balance, representing Bhupat Seemar, completes the short-list. The seven-year-old has gone well off a break in the past and is nicely handicapped on the pick of his best form of two seasons ago.

De Sousa, the season’s leading jockey, rides Al Muzn in the 1200m Handicap, Race 6. Trained by Salman Al Sabri, he was knocking on the door last season, finishing second four times, twice on dirt at Jebel Ali and Meydan. He remains on a mark he can be competitive and holds leading claims in a race not many appeal.

Action Point, not seen since finishing a good second behind Pen Portrait on his final start of the season in March, is very unexposed on dirt and heads the list of dangers under Bernardo Pinheiro for his main employer, Salem bin Ghadayer.

Border Edge, trained by Seemar, progressed with racing last season and if can reproduce his close fourth behind Road Bloc at the Abu Dhabi Turf Club, he should be thereabouts.

The switch to dirt won’t be obstacle to success, having won over the course and has not run a poor race at Meydan.

BEST BET

Race 3 No 8 Six Speed

BEST VALUE

Race 2 No 12 Vino Sauro

BEST SWINGER

Race 6: 6-Al Muzn and 1-Action Point

JACKPOT

(Races 4 to 7)

R72

Leg 1: 2, 3, 8, 9

Leg 2: 3, 8, 13

Leg 3: 1, 6

Leg 4: 2, 4, 6