'He should be very competitive' - Appleby bullish about Singspiel contender

The Dubai Carnival enters its fifth week and Godolphin run as many horses in a bid to scoop as much of the £133,333 pot for the feature Group 2 Singspiel Stakes Presented By Race of UAE Innovates over 1m1f.

Britain's champion trainer Charlie Appleby is responsible for three of the first four in the betting, with the grey Lord Glitters – trained by David O'Meara – the only horse stopping Zakouski, Royal Fleet and Art Du Val from locking out the podium positions with the bookmakers.

4.55 Meydan: Singspiel Stakes card

On their chances, Appleby said: “Zakouski is dropping back to nine furlongs after running over a mile and a quarter in Bahrain, which should suit him better. He is a solid performer around Meydan and should be very competitive if he performs to his best.

“Art Du Val and Royal Fleet have both come out of the Al Rashidiya in good order and a repeat of those efforts should see them in the mix again.”

Lord Glitters won the second Group 1 of his career at Meydan last year in the Jebel Hatta and his trainer is hopeful the nine-year-old has come on for his first outing of this year's desert voyage.

Lord Glitters: expected to have improved for return effortCredit: Dubai Racing Club / Erika Rasmussen

O'Meara said: “He obviously likes it out there and I think he might have improved a touch for his first run. He had a little bit of time off after Bahrain, so it wouldn't surprise me if he took a step forward. I was happy with his first run; he finished off his race nicely and I'd be hopeful he can get involved.”

Saeed bin Suroor adds depth to the Godolphin challenge with Bedouin's Story and Passion And Glory.

He said: “Bedouin’s Story has done well since the Al Rashidiya. He is a good horse and Frankie Dettori knows him well. This trip suits him and we are looking for a good run.

“Passion And Glory needed his first run of the year and has come on for the outing. We are looking to take him to Saudi Arabia after this, so this should hopefully make him spot on for later in the month. He’s in good form and ready to go.”

Other British and Irish-based trainers involved include William Knight, who has booked Callum Shepherd to partner Sir Busker; Simon Crisford, who will leg Andrea Atzeni into the saddle for Court House; Ian Williams, who relies on Enemy, ridden by Tadhg O'Shea; and David Marnane, who teams up with Pat Dobbs to run Freescape.

The undercard features two Group 3s: the UAE 2,000 Guineas Presented By Race of Creativity (3.10), for which the Salem bin Ghadayer-trained Rawy is contesting favouritism with the Bhupat Seemar-trained Bendoog, and Al Shindagha Sprint Presented By Sustainability Race (5.30) for which Al Tariq, Meraas and Bet Law head the market.

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Get the lowdown from Charlie Appleby and Saeed bin Suroor on red-hot Dubai teams (Members' Club)

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