Great sport around the Singspiel Stakes

Meydan, Friday, February 11: In the midst of it all is the Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan, where race prizes totaling $800,000 will be distributed in seven races today. The lion`s share will go to the Singspiel Stakes (6th race/5:55 p.m./$180,000/1800m/turf).

Unsurprisingly, the hosts enter with the best odds. Zakouski (William Buick), Art Du Val (Mickael Barzalona), Royal Fleet (James Doyle), Bedouin`s Story (Frankie Dettori) and Passion And Glory (Pat Cosgrave) all start for Godolphin, with the former three trained by Charlie Appleby and Saeed bin Suroor responsible for the rest. In the Bahrain Trophy (Group 3), Zakouski disappointed in the beaten field, while Lord Glitters (Daniel Tudhope) enjoyed an assured victory. Twelve months ago, the eight-year-old won the Singspiel Stakes with Adrie de Vries three lengths ahead of Zakouski and Art Du Val, who finished a good third here in the Al Rashidiya (Group 2) on January 21 behind Royal Fleet but ahead of Lord Glitters and Bedouin`s Story.

Finally, it`s all over dirt in the Al Shindagha Sprint (7th race/6:30 p.m./$150,000/1200m). Last year`s winner Al Tariq (Pat Dobbs) is in absolute top form, which he fully confirmed recently in the Dubawi Stakes (Group 3). The Watson protégé beat Freedom Fighter (Tadhg O`Shea), who was fighting for second place, by two lengths. Ibn Malik (Dane O`Neill) and Canvassed (Andrea Atzeni) finished close and once again should not be underestimated.

There is a German background to the appearance of Manjeer (Eddy Hardouin) in the Business Bay Challenge (4th race/16.45pm/100,000$/1400m/turf). The six-year-old, trained by Carina Fey for Natlie Steinmann, currently made a very good impression when fifth in the Al Fahidi Fort (Group 2), but will have to improve again against strong local competition such as D`bai (William Buick) and Modern News (James Doyle).