Veteran star Medicean set to conquer new lands

Senior sprinter Medicean Man is opening up a new frontier at the grand old age of 11 when he runs for the first time in Qatar at the weekend and trainer Jeremy Gask received the news he was waiting for as he prepares to fly out to Doha on Tuesday morning.

Despite the ravages of Father Time, Medicean Man has looked as good as ever during his annual trip to Dubai this winter and has been given a plum draw for his short hop to Doha for the Group 3 Dukhan Sprint.

Gask said on Monday: "Medicean Man is still at Meydan and I'm still in Britain but we hope to meet on Wednesday at Al Rayyan racecourse when he takes the one-hour flight from Dubai.

"I went on a reconnaissance mission there and although it's a tight turf track it's perfectly flat, which suits our horse. They've already done the draw and we've got stall two, which is perfect."

Among the opposition in a 13-strong field are fellow British-trained hopes Gracious John (David Evans) and Caspian Prince (Roger Fell), along with a host of locals in a contest worth $250,000.

Although his horse may be well drawn, one downside to Gask's upcoming trip is the weather.

He said: "It's quite mild in Qatar right now, I understand around 22C, so we won't be getting a tan just yet, but it will be good for the horse.

"They've increased the prize-money for the whole meeting this year, which explains why horses such as Arab Spring are headed out there, and it will be an interesting trip that's for sure."