Huge Godolphin contingent for Carnival's 8th meet

Action from the race.

As time winds down towards the Super Saturday and the ultimate Dubai World Cup at the end of the month, the Meydan Racecourse will host the eighth race meeting of the Dubai World Cup Carnival at the start of the weekend.
And Thursday presents a fascinating and highly-competitive seven-race card with one Group 2 and two Group 3 fixtures set to be run at the iconic racecourse.
The headlining act undoubtedly is the Zabeel Mile to be run over eight furlongs and leading racing operation Godolphin are well represented in the Group 2 contest.
Godolphin have four runners in the nine-horse field with Wootton being one of the strong favourites to land the big prize.
The four-year-old son of Wootton Bassett, Charlie Appleby's charge had finished third in the G1 St James's Palace Stakes over a mile at Royal Ascot last June and will be one of the four to look out for.
Wootton will aim to add his three wins from eight starts when he lines up at Gate 6 under James Doyle, who will be riding him for the first time after Mickael Barzalona had done for seven races and William Buick one.
"Wootton brings a good level of form from Europe and his training has gone well. He looks to have strengthened up over the winter and a reproduction of his Royal Ascot run is going to make him a serious contender," Appleby told the Godolphin website.
The other runners for Appleby are Mythical Magic and First Contact, while Emirati handler Saeed bin Suroor has Top Score.
Mythical Magic, who had finished second to D'Bai in the Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort in January, will be the mount of Buick and will break from Stall 2.
Meanwhile, First Contact, who will be ridden by Colm O'Donoghue, had finished seventh in the Group 2 Al Rashidiya, last month.
"We were delighted with Mythical Magic's performance in the Al Fahidi Fort and the step up to a mile is going to suit. We are confident that this is the right trip for him," Appleby said of Mythical Magic.
"First Contact didn't settle very well in the Al Rashidiya, so we are looking to get him to relax over this distance and do everything the right way round," he added.
Meanwhile Saeed bin Suroor reckoned a step down in trip will suit Top Score. "Top Score was disappointing over six furlongs on his latest start, but a mile will be better for him and he has been working well at home. We felt that he deserved another chance in a Group race and I am hoping for a better run this time," said bin Suroor.
Godolphin's four will face competition in the form of Janoobi, Championship, Comin' Through, Marinaresco and Century Dream.
The Godolphin contingent is strong this weekend with 20 runners in total with six in the Group 3 Dubai Millennium Stakes and three in the Group 3 UAE Oaks.
james@khaleejtimes.com