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3.05
GLOBAL CITY is unbeaten on artificial surfaces so is fancied to defy a 6lb rise in the weights in the first round of the inaugural Meydan Masters Jockeys’ Competition. Saeed bin Suroor’s charge has been dealt a lucky hand to be partnered with one of his retained jockeys in Ted Durcan and looks to be the most progressive horse in what looks to be a thoroughly exposed field. Good Control could be next best but he is the mount of Norihiro Yokoyama, who is relatively unknown outside of Japan and has little or no experience of riding at Meydan so he may be best watched.

3.40
Godolphin’s Sirocco Breeze was a comfortable winner here last month so should is entitled to a great deal of respect this evening. However, he has been heavily penalised for that success and it remains to be seen whether this fairly unexposed five-year-old is up to the task. Therefore, a marginal preference is for Dubai World Cup winning jockey Aaron Gryder’s mount CONSUL GENERAL. He has been solid without being spectacular at the Carnival so far but was a decent third on his latest outing behind the high class Eagle Mountain and the impressive Skysurfers in a Conditions race here and may prove to be the best value in the race.

4.15
On ratings alone, FROZEN POWER looks to be head and shoulders ahead of the rest of the field and his performances so far at Meydan suggest that this may be the case. The UAE 2000 Guineas runner-up has found only the high class Musir too good so far so is fancied to run a big race in what looks to be a lesser task this evening. Saeed bin Suroor looks to hold the key to this race as the two main dangers to the selection are his stable mates. Black Snowflake ran well when finishing behind him on the opening night of the Carnival while Tahitian Warrior, a comfortable winner of a maiden at Gulfstream Park earlier this year, is the choice of number one jockey Frankie Dettori.

4.50
Drunken Sailor has done very little wrong so far in two starts at Meydan but he only just held on last time out and may find another rise in the weights too much of a burden to overcome. As a result, FIREBET is preferred. The four-year-old was only narrowly beaten on his Meydan debut last week and should appreciate the extra furlong that is on offer this evening. Another that could be worth keeping an eye on is Indian raider Autonomy. He wasn’t disgraced on his Dubai debut over an inadequate trip and is a Grade 1 winner in his native land so he could put in a decent effort to try and spoil the Godolphin party.

5.30
Doug Watson’s Roman’s Run got first run on the field here a fortnight ago but he is a bleeder and, although his last run was encouraging, he can’t be fancied to follow up with that hanging over him. Therefore, the horse that finished third behind him that day, ROMAN REPUBLIC, is fancied reverse the placings. The four-year-old was finishing fast in the final furlong but just couldn’t weave his way through the field and looked to be a slightly unlucky loser. He looks to be on a fairly lenient mark and is expected to improve for his first run since July. The fourth on that day, Kal Barg, is another that didn’t really get the run of the race but he again failed to get his head in front here last week and may have to settle for only the minor honours once again.

6.10
El Cambio is likely to be well fancied on only his second start for current connections but he was well beaten when third in a Grade 3 contest here (the form hasn’t exactly worked out either) and although he is comfortably the highest rated horse in the field, his Australian form is hard to weigh up. Taking that into account, FROSTY SECRET looks to be the obvious choice to get his head in front. He will have a tough draw to overcome on his turf debut but he comes from a Mike De Kock stable that are flying at the moment so should be able to make the most of the drop in class this evening. Oasis Star has ran consistently well so far at the Carnival and it would be no surprise to see the Indian speedster in contention come the final furlong.

6.45
Although Snaafy didn’t quite live up to expectations in the second round of the Al Maktoum Challenge, he is much more at home over a mile on turf, this evening’s conditions, so can be expected to be there or thereabouts. However, one horse that I have in my notebook is IMBONGI. The South African raider was all but the winner in the Al Fahidi Fort until a late surge from Bankable put paid to his efforts. Nevertheless, Mike De Kock’s charge should take plenty of heart from that and, if able to reproduce that level of form this evening, he should be right up there. Rio De La Plata has gone off the rails somewhat since his second in the French 2000 Guineas a couple of years ago but he is well regarded by connections so could be one to surprise.