What worked to perfection at the start of 2023 may once again lead to a win in Saturday’s Group 1 Golden Shaheen at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai for the Florida-based gelding Sibelius. In early 2023, Sibelius won the Grade 3 Mr. Prospector Stakes at Gulfstream Park and the $75,000 Pelican Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs in consecutive starts before a career-defining win by a nose in the $2 million Golden Shaheen at six furlongs at Meydan. Trainer Jeremiah O’Dywer has followed the same pattern this year in preparing Sibelius for the Golden Shaheen. A 6-year-old gelding, Sibelius rates as an appealing contender in a largely open race along with fellow American-based runners such as Nakatomi, Bold Journey, and Hopkins, and the Japanese shipper Remake. The Golden Shaheen is part of the nine-race program at Meydan that includes eight races worth seven figures for Thoroughbreds, culminating in the $12 million Dubai World Cup. First post time for the Thoroughbred stakes is 8:05 a.m. Eastern. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com. Sibelius, who races for Jun Park and Delia Nash, will be reunited with jockey Ryan Moore for the Golden Shaheen. Moore, arguably the most in-demand rider in Thoroughbred racing, was aboard Sibelius for the first time in the 2023 Golden Shaheen. In that race, Sibelius broke from the inside in a field of 14 and stalked the pace before scoring a narrow win. On Saturday, Sibelius starts from post 6, which should allow Moore to find a stalking position early. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Nakatomi, trained by Wesley Ward, was a modest favorite at 5-1 with British bookmakers on Wednesday. He will draw support in American parimutuel pools on the basis of a troubled third behind Sibelius in the Pelican Stakes on Feb. 10. Nakatomi raced between horses at a pivotal point in the stretch and closed some ground when racing room developed in the final 100 yards. The Pelican Stakes was Nakatomi’s first start since a third by two lengths to Elite Power in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Santa Anita last November. A win by Hopkins, beaten a nose in the Grade 3 Palos Verdes Stakes on Feb. 10 at Santa Anita, or Bold Journey would be more of a surprise. Hopkins, trained by Bob Baffert, was fourth in the 2023 Golden Shaheen after fading from the lead late. Remake and Bold Journey were first and third in the Group 3 Riyadh Dirt Sprint, a $1.5 million race at about six furlongs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 24. Both closed from well off the pace. Remake was fifth in the 2023 Golden Shaheen. Aside from the recent race in Saudi Arabia, Remake has won sprint stakes on dirt in Japan and Korea since August. Al Quoz Sprint The Golden Shaheen is one of two six-furlong sprints on the Meydan program, along with the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint on turf. Casa Creed, unraced since a game third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita in November, will start at Meydan for the first time since a fifth-place finish in the 2022 Al Quoz Sprint. An 8-year-old horse trained by Bill Mott, Casa Creed had an outstanding Saratoga meeting last summer, winning two one-mile turf races – the Grade 3 Kelso Stakes in July and the Grade 1 Fourstardave Handicap in August. Casa Creed, who will have regular rider Luis Saez aboard, drew post 6 in the $1.5 million Al Quoz, run on a straightaway course. As of Wednesday, Casa Creed was the 7-1 third choice with bookmakers behind the local 3-year-old filly Star of Mystery and the Hong Kong shipper California Spangle. Star of Mystery, who will carry 117 pounds compared to 130 for the older males, has won 4 of 8 starts for Godolphin Racing and trainer Charlie Appleby in Britain and Dubai. Star of Mystery was beaten in her final prep in the Group 3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint at five furlongs on March 2 at Meydan, when she was second to another 3-year-old in Frost At Dawn, who took the lead a quarter-mile from the finish and won by 2 1/2 lengths. Frost At Dawn is rated as an outsider in a field of 12. Star of Mystery and Frost At Dawn are the only 3-year-olds in the field, attempting to become the first of their age to win the race. Godolphin Mile Saudi Crown, who led to the final sixteenth before finishing third in the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh on Feb. 24, will be one of the shortest-priced favorites of the day in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile, the first Thoroughbred race on the program. Trained by Brad Cox, Saudi Crown was beaten three-quarters of a length in the Saudi Cup at about 1 1/8 miles. Race tactics in the Godolphin Mile could be fascinating, and greatly impact the result. Saudi Crown often sets the pace as does his leading rival Isolate, who won the 2023 Godolphin Mile but was sixth in the Saudi Cup after failing to make the lead. Saudi Crown and Isolate, who is trained in Dubai by Doug Watson, are part of a field of 13 on Saturday. Florent Geroux rides Saudi Crown, while Luis Saez will ride Isolate for the first time. Saudi Crown breaks from post 9, while Isolate starts from post 11. Saudi Crown, a 4-year-old colt, has won 4 of 8 starts in a career highlighted by a win in the Grade 1 Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing last September. He disputed the pace in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita last November before fading to finish 10th of 12. There are two other American-based runners in the field – the former claimers Caramel Chip and Two Rivers Over. Caramel Chip, claimed for $8,000 at Gulfstream Park in January 2023, was fourth in the Pelican Stakes, two lengths behind Sibelius. Two Rivers Over, claimed for $30,000 at Ellis Park last June, was fourth in the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes at 1 1/8 miles at Santa Anita on Jan. 29. Trained by Doug O’Neill, Two Rivers Over won the $300,000 Zia Park Derby in New Mexico last November. Dubai Gold Cup Tower of London, winner of the Group 3, $2.5 million Red Sea Handicap at 1 7/8 miles on turf in Riyadh on Feb. 24, leads a big field of 16 in the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup at two miles, the day’s longest race. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Tower of London will be ridden by Moore. The British-based father-and-son training team of John and Thady Gosden start Trawlerman, who was 14th of 15 in the 2023 Dubai Gold Cup, but later won three distance races in Britain in a five-week span last September and October. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.