Haafaguinea steps up for Dubai Millennium Stakes

Haafaguinea, a 6-year-old gelding who has won three of his last four starts, will start in a group stakes for the first time in his career in Thursday’s $200,000 Dubai Millennium Stakes at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates.

The Group 3 Dubai Millennium Stakes is run at 2,000 meters, or about 1 1/4 miles, on turf, and has drawn a field of 10.

Haafaguinea, who is trained by Saeed bin Suroor, won his only start this year, a handicap at 1 1/2 miles on turf at Meydan on Jan. 21. Haafaguineas has won 6 of 13 starts in his career. William Buick rode Haafaguinea in January, but Frederick Tylicki has the mount on Thursday.

Buick is riding Tryster, a 5-year-old gelding who has won 7 of 10 starts and is unbeaten in six starts on all-weather surfaces in England. Tryster, who is trained by Charlie Appleby for Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing, has won six of his last seven starts. His only loss was a last-place finish of five in the Group 3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown Park in England last May. Tryster won on turf at Brighton, England, in 2014.

Tryster has not raced since winning an allowance race on the all-weather surface at Chelmsford City Racecourse, near London, in September.

Later in the program at Meydan, Ertijaal, a Group 1 winner in South Africa, starts in $110,000 handicap at about 1 3/16 miles on turf, which could be a prep for a race on the Dubai World Cup program on March 26. Trained by Michael de Kock, Ertijaal was second in the Group 2 Al Rashidiya Stakes on Jan. 28, his first start in Dubai.