City of Gold 1. Kemari  2. White Wolf  3. Global Storm Not much to this renewal of the City of Gold, and I’ve got Godolphin horses 1-2-3 here – not a surprise with the way they dominate World Cup Carnival turf racing. KEMARI should be formidable cutting back from 1 3/4 miles on Feb. 17 in the Nad al Sheba Trophy. That distance seems to be a little too far for Kemari, who pressed the pace with no cover nearly the entire trip while pulling harder than desirable in the early stages. He hung tough until the 200-meter mark, could have benefitted from the start, and has enough baseline quality two have won the Queen’s Vase two summers ago at Royal Ascot. WHITE WOLF has all the upside on the day and value-wise holds about as much appeal as Kemari. This 4-year-old has made only five starts; two on synthetic, which were encouraging, the Dante Stakes, which might not have been a totally true billing; a Meydan grass race over a course rated slow; and a last-out dirt experiment that showed dirt is not an option. Firm going and 1 1/2 miles could produce something competitive. GLOBAL STORM gets the “A” rider from the Godolphin “A” Team but just doesn’t have the credentials to beat Kemari if both run their race. Burj Nahaar 1. Desert Wisdom  2. Secret Victory  3. Street Mood DESERT WISDOM won this race a year ago before running second in the Godolphin Mile and very likely has a better chance than the bare form would at first indicate. Two back, making his first start in 9 1/2 months, he came off the bridle and hit a flat spot on the turn after having established a decent stalking position down the backstretch of the one-turn mile Maktoum Challenge Round 1. He seemed headed for a back-of-the-pack finish before suddenly finding stride in upper stretch and finishing with good energy to just miss fifth, not far out of third in a race dominated by Algiers. The 1 3/16-mile trip last time was just too far; he stands a decent chance of bouncing back. SECRET VICTORY also cuts back to one mile, potentially a good thing, and finished in front of the top pick in the Maktoum Challenge Round 2. His one-mile try three back at Jebel Ali came on a strong heat. STREET MOOD got seven pounds from On the Warpath when running him down last time, here goes at level weights, but he’s a younger improving horse who might have more to find. Nad al Sheba Sprint 1. Al Dasim  2. Miqyaas  3. Ventura Rebel AL DASIM faces older horses for the first time and is not drawn well at all down in post 2. However, he overcame post 3 in his most recent start, and as a 3-year-old facing older rivals gets 10 pounds from the rest of the field. The horse clearly has traveled well to Dubai after really coming to hand in the fall, and he aired in his most recent race while appearing to win with something still in reserve. MIQYAAS was a huge price winning the Blue Point last out but won’t be so overlooked this time now that he’s gone 2 for 2 since moving to turf. This 1,200-meter trip might better suit him than the 1,000 over which he won last time. VENTURA REBEL has some back form that makes him competitive and a slew of excuses leading up to his encouraging third-place last start finish. :: Take your handicapping to the next level and play with FREE DRF Past Performances - Formulator or Classic.  Al Bastakiya  1. Lahresh  2. Mr Raj  3. Go Soldier Go LAHRESH enjoyed the muddy going much more than Go Soldier Go when they met in Jan. 27, but Lahresh won so easily that he likely was considerably best regardless of course condition. Enters fresh and has good form going seven furlongs facing MR RAJ two races ago. Mr Raj plugged along steadily and was making minor late inroads on the top two home (both apparently awaiting the UAE Derby) last out in the UAE 2000 Guineas. Hard to see him not racing competitively. Not only did GO SOLDIER GO drop the bit and lose position on the backstretch of his muddy-track start, he got into traffic trouble in upper stretch. Smoother run winning last out, but his very high knee action is extremely inefficient and may limit his upside. Maktoum Challenge Round 3 1. Bendoog  2. Kafoo  3. Salute the Soldier BENDOOG is the most tepid of obvious selections in what looks like a soft renewal of this Group 1 Dubai World Cup prep. Still somewhat immature last winter as a 3-year-old, he has come around steadily this winter, and I do like that he showed enough speed to make the lead last out in Round 2 of the Maktoum Challenge. No match there for Algiers, but that horse might be an actual threat in the World Cup itself, and Bendoog might still have more level to find this form cycle. His Bhupat Seemar-trained stablemate KAFOO looks suspect at this 2,000-meter trip based on his lone start beyond 1,600 meters, but he might stay the trip a little better than that. After a rough start to his winter, he sparked to life last out at Jebel Ali. Eight-year-old SALUTE THIS SOLDIER has been around long enough to have won the 2021 renewal of this race. Did he bounce last out after a sharp comeback course-and-distance win in the Thunder Snow? Ras Al Khor 1. Lanequash  2. Danyah  3. Al Suhail LANEQUASH is a standout in this seven-furlong turf contest if he brings anything close to his top European form into his Dubai debut. Seven furlongs absolutely is his trip, he’s run very well on left-handed courses and over good and firm footing, and he’s easily faced the strongest competition of anyone in this group. Jockey Jim Crowley knows both horse and course very well. DANYAH has a higher local rating than Lanequash (both are owned by Shadwell), thanks to a near-blowout course and distance win in his most recent race. That strong showing came on the heels of two dirt races, easily excusable, and Danyah, while he saved ground, didn’t have the most comfortable trip, forced to hold his position on the rail just off the flank of the leader. AL SUHAIL flopped in the 2022 renewal of this race but ran a blinder when last seen Jan. 6 in the Al Fahidi Fort. One wonders if he takes his races hard, as he’s never scored consecutive wins, and connections have given the horse a nice spell between starts. Jebel Hatta  1. Real World  2. Valiant Prince  3. Master of the Seas Will international bettors shy slightly from REAL WORLD because Daniel Tudhope, rather than William Buick, rides the horse, and because he hasn’t started since June? Hopefully. Long layoffs, especially in Dubai, are of roughly zero concern when it comes to the Charlie Appleby barn, and Tudhope, a fine jockey, rode this horse his last two starts and in his three top performances. The straight-course mile of the Queen Anne might not be Real World’s best lick, yet he was a strong second to the world’s best miler, Baaeed, while more than four lengths clear of the third-place horse. The horse runs very well fresh and was a sharp comeback-race winner in his lone Meydan outing. VALIANT PRINCE likely is third choice among the Godolphins but rates a solid chance himself. He’s 4 for 4 over the Meydan turf, improving all the time, and was giving the horse he narrowly beat last out 4 1/2 pounds. MASTER OF THE SEAS won his lone start beyond one mile, going this 1 1/8-mile trip, but beat modest opposition there in the Earl of Sefton. His last-out Meydan win lacked the brilliance of Real World’s top performances. Mahab al Shimaal 1. Isolate  2. Tuz  3. Colour Up ISOLATE was defeated by TUZ in the Al Shindagha Sprint last out, but where Tuz is a UAE veteran, Isolate was making his Dubai debut after being purchased from an American stable last fall. It’s easy to see Isolate turning the tables, and his best performances in the United States are at least as good as those of Dubai debut runner Sound Money. COLOUR UP faces a serious class test here but gave weight to the runner up in a smart recent course and distance win and has been improving through the winter. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.