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Dubai Carnival Heating Up at the Halfway Mark

California-based trainer Doug O'Neill is back after a successful 2022 Carnival.

Algiers wins the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 at Meydan

Algiers wins the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 at Meydan

Emirates Racing Authority

The Dubai World Cup Carnival hits its midpoint Feb. 3 at Meydan Racecourse and the makeup of the four Thoroughbred group races on the program emphasizes that World Cup night itself is a mere seven weeks away.

Featured is the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2 (G2) at 1,900 meters (about 1 3/16 miles) on the dirt. Al Maktoum Challenge Round 1 (G2) winner Algiers faces Remorse, Salute the Soldier, First Constitution, Atletico El Culano, and others in a race won by Thunder Snow in 2018 en route to eventual World Cup victory.

Also on tap are two major events on the turf, the Singspiel Stakes (G2) at 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) and the Cape Verdi Stakes (G2) for fillies and mares at 1,600 meters (about one mile). From these races, top performers could pursue the 1,800-meter Dubai Turf (G1) on World Cup Night.

The Al Shindaga Sprint (G3) is 1,200 meters (about six furlongs) on the dirt and is a prep for the Golden Shaheen (G1) at the same trip on the big night, March 25.

Algiers is the focus of the Maktoum Challenge. His co-trainers, Simon and Ed Crisford, have high hopes for getting their 6-year-old gelding into the Dubai World Cup (G1) field, especially after the impressive 6 1/2-length victory in his last start.

"We're extremely pleased with the way Algiers won Round 1 in such good style," said Ed Crisford. "He's really taken to the dirt well, and racing and training on it last year stood him in good stead.

"He's turned into a proper dirt horse," the younger Crisford offered. "He's stepping up to 1,900 meters but that shouldn't be a problem as he's quite versatile and has won from a mile to a mile and a half. He's a Shamardal out of a Platini mare, so there's plenty of stamina on the dam's side."

That mare, Antara, also won group races out to 1 1/4 miles in England during her career for Godolphin. 

As the screws are tightened with the big races approaching, others in the field also will be looking to make their mark.

Remorse finished sixth in the 2022 World Cup and returned with a win in December. Salute the Soldier, winner of the 2021 Maktoum Challenge Round 2, exits a victory in the Thunder Snow Challenge.

First Constitution started his career in Chile, then posted four exacta finishes from eight starts for Todd Pletcher in New York, including two stakes wins. He was a disappointment in the Thunder Snow Challenge Jan. 13, filling the 11th spot in the placings, but his connections said he didn't like the addition of cheek pieces and refused to pass horses. The cheek pieces are gone for this race.

Atletico El Culano was bred in Uruguay and raced there before arriving in Dubai late in 2022. He continued the excellent work Uruguayan horses have done in the desert with a second-place finish in the Thunder Snow Challenge.

The Maktoum Challenge field also includes Bendoog, a 4-year-old Gun Runner  colt bred by Calumet Farm but raced exclusively in Dubai. He finished fourth in the U.A.E. Derby (G2) in 2022 and was last seen reporting third in the Thunder Snow Challenge. Like Remorse, he's trained by Bhupat Seemar.

The Singspiel attracted a field of 10. Four of them, including the three ante-post favorites on the international market, are Godolphin runners. Three of the four, Valiant Prince, Dubai Future, and Ottoman Fleet, finished 1-2-3 in that order in the Al Rashidiya (G2) Jan. 13.

"Valiant Prince has a penalty for the Al Rashidiya win but has a nice draw in two and should be competitive based on what he achieved last time out," said trainer Charlie Appleby.

One to watch is Sifting Sands, trained by Doug O'Neill. O'Neill had a successful extended run in the 2022 Carnival with four winners and his traveling team is preparing Sifting Sands, a 5-year-old son of Dubawi, for a switch to the dirt for a shot at either the Godolphin Mile (G2) or the World Cup itself.

A dozen are in for the Cape Verdi, with the four early favorites all from Godolphin. With The Moonlight, a 4-year-old Frankel  filly, leads that parade. It's her first start back from a summer in New York, where she finished second in the Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes (G1T), won the Saratoga Oaks Invitational Stakes (G3T), and was second again in the Lake Placid Stakes (G2T) at the Spa Aug. 20.

It is a baker's dozen and wide open in the Al Shindagha. O'Neill has one of the longer shots in I'll Stand Taller. The 5-year-old son of Square Eddie was 3-for-20 in California while running on all three surfaces and was last seen finishing sixth in the Don Valpredo California Cup Sprint Stakes for state-breds Jan. 7.

If the shift to the desert isn't enough to get I'll Stand Taller to stand taller, perhaps the addition of jockey William Buick can do the job.