Godolphin well stocked as Dubai World Cup Carnival enters third week

Poetic Charm, Asoof and Victory Wave will represent the Dubai-based racing stable in the $250,000 Cape Verdi at Meydan

Saeed bin Suroor has Asoof prepped for Group 2 Balanchine at Meydan Racecourse on Thursday. Getty Images

The Dubai World Cup Carnival enters its third week on Thursday, with the Group 2 Cape Verdi for fillies and mares the highlight of the six-race card at Meydan racetrack.

Godolphin have an excellent record in the race having won six of the last eight, and will be aiming to extend their dominance with three horses entered for the US$250,000 (Dh918,000) event over 1,600 metres on turf.

Charlie Appleby sends out Poetic Charm, while Saeed bin Suroor is double handed with Asoof and Victory Wave. Poetic Charm, winner of four of her nine starts, leads the Royal Blues challenge in the seven-runner field.

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Appleby’s charge ran twice over a mile in France last year, finishing second in the Group 3 prize at Deauville in August before winning a Listed race at Longchamp, France, a month later.

Four-year-old Poetic Charm is returning to the track for the first time since finishing 11th in the Group 3 Pin Oak Valley View Stakes at Keeneland, in the United States, in October.

“Poetic Charm showed a good level of form out in France last season, but things didn’t go right for her in Keeneland, where she was drawn very wide,” Appleby told the Godolphin website.

“She has done well out in Dubai and will be a major player if she brings her French form to the table.”

Meanwhile, Bin Suroor’s runners are stepping up in class. Asoof is the choice of Christophe Soumillon, the 10-time French champion jockey who has developed a good partnership with the Emirati trainer in Dubai.

Four-year-old Asoof has won three times, all over 2,000m, in her eight starts in the UK and makes her Group race debut.

“Asoof has done very well since coming out to Dubai,” Bin Suroor said. “She is a small filly and has been working really nicely. The drop back to a mile will not be a problem and I am hoping for a decent performance.”

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Highlights of Godolphin's golden 2018:

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Five-year-old Victory Wave has won four times in nine starts also in the UK, and will be ridden by apprentice Kevin Stott.

“She has come on for her first run of the year and has been working well,” Bin Suroor said. “This is a step up and she is coming up against some nice fillies, but I am looking for a good run.”

Challenging the Godolphin trio are the Turkish raider Peri Lina, British-trained Mia Tesoro, Monza from Sweden, and Furia Cruzada trained in Dubai by Erwan Charpy.

Godolphin will also have a presence in each of the other five races at Meydan, including six of the 11 runners in the fifth race, a handicap for horses rated 95 to 105.

The Bin Suroor-trained Mountain Hunter, a winner over the course and distance last year and ridden by Soumillon, looks to be heading the challenge of the Emirati trainer.

Celestial Spheres, a four-time winner over 12 races, appears to be Appleby’s horse to follow for the race, and will be ridden by James Doyle.