Honour Devil in racing return

Honour Devil, unseen since winning the UAE Derby last March, makes his long-awaited return to the races at Nad Al Sheba on Thursday night in the Al Dana Investment Plate, a one-mile dirt allowance worth $110,000 in which he will be facing eight seemingly outclassed rivals.

Regarded as the best locally trained hope for the Dubai World Cup, Honour Devil is an Argentine-bred son of Honour and Glory trained by Mike de Kock. He is 4 for 5 lifetime, with three of those victories coming on the Nad Al Sheba dirt, among them last year's UAE 2000 Guineas.

If anyone is to challenge him, it might be Tiz Now Tiz Then, who won the Iowa Derby and finished third in the Jim Dandy before concluding his 3-year-old season with a second-place finish in the Oklahoma Derby.

The featured Group 2 Al Fahidi Fort, a one-mile, $250,000 prep for the Dubai Duty Free, drew just seven entries, the best of whom may be the de Kock-trained Imbongi.