They’re not waiting around to shoot the fireworks Thursday night at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai, where the highlight of a seven-race card is the program opener, the Group 2, $175,000 Meydan Sprint. Only six are entered, but the 1,000-meter (about five furlongs) straight-course turf sprint still presents a compelling matchup between Ertijaal and Blue Point, with Hit the Bid also in with a chance. Later on the program come the Group 3, $200,000 Dubai Millennium Stakes over 2,000 meters on turf  and the Group 2, $250,000 Zabeel Mile at 1,600 meters on turf. Even casual followers of the Dubai World Cup Carnival the last three seasons know Ertijaal, who has made a dozen Meydan starts since January 2015. A 7-year-old Oasis Dream gelding bred by Shadwell Estates and campaigned in the colors of Shadwell’s owner, Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum, Ertijaal has made half of his Meydan starts over Thursday’s 1,000-meter distance and won 5 of 6, his lone defeat at the trip a second-place finish behind Buffering in the 2016 edition of the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint on the Dubai World Cup undercard. Unfortunately for Ertijaal and his connections, Sheikh Hamdan and trainer Ali Rashid al Rayhi, the Al Quoz was lengthened to 1,200 meters in 2017, which still is within Ertijaal’s range but farther than ideal. Nonetheless, Ertijaal surely is on target for another Al Quoz try in March, and he looked about as good as ever winning a high-level handicap Jan. 12, his lone start so far this Carnival. There, Ertijaal beat Hit the Bid by a half-length while conceding 10 pounds to a capable rival who returned Feb. 8 with his own eye-catching 1,000-meter turf win. The Meydan Sprint, however, is run at level weights, and with so few horses on such a wide expanse of course should be truly run. The new shooter – in Dubai, at least – is Blue Point, a 4-year-old Godolphin colt who was an excellent 2-year-old and proved the rare 3-year-old capable of holding his own with top European sprinters at that age. Blue Point has never raced at a distance shorter than 1,200 meters, surely has the Al Quoz as his main Carnival target, and might not be ready for the likes of Ertijaal at level weights Thursday. There are plenty of places to turn in the Zabeel Mile. Whisky Baron, an Australian-bred, South African-campaigned horse, makes his Dubai debut, having peaked a little more than a year ago, scoring a Group 1 win over 2,000 meters. Whisky Baron came back from an extended break with a useful-looking run in late September, but still might be ring-rusty from so little recent racing. Seven-year-old Championship won the 2017 Zabeel Mile by almost three lengths but didn’t start again at last year’s Carnival and finished a flat eighth in his first start this season three weeks ago in the Al Fahidi Fort. He could bounce back, but his rapid rise a year ago followed by the lengthy vacation might make one think twice. Janoobi, Dream Castle, and Noah from Goah were, respectively, second, third, and fifth in the Al Fahidi Fort, a 1,400-meter race won by Jungle Cat on the stretch-out. Janoobi not only had the best last race, but looks most likely to come forward in the Zabeel Mile. In the Dubai Millennium, Folkswood makes his first Meydan start since finishing second by a neck last March 4 to Decorated Knight in the Group 1 Jebel Hatta Stakes. A 5-year-old Godolphin gelding trained by Charlie Appleby, Folkswood faced the likes of legendary Winx during an Australian excursion late last year, and having raced as recently as Nov. 11, Folkswood might have kept his baseline fitness high enough over the heart of winter to return with a sharp performance Thursday. Trainer Mike de Kock has two possibly live chances in the race, Light the Lights and Al Sahem. Light the Lights was fourth and Al Sahem seventh when they met Feb. 1 in the Al Rashidiya Stakes over 1,800 meters. The extra furlong probably benefits both, but Al Sahem is the more interesting of the pair, having surely needed the race three weeks ago, his first since being imported from South Africa, where he was a Group 1 winner, albeit over 2,450 meters. First post for the card, which is post time for the Meydan Sprint, is 9:30 a.m. Eastern.