Lord North and Dettori bidding for Dubai Turf four-timer

Lord North will be reunited with Frankie Dettori in search of an unprecedented fourth straight victory in Saturday’s Dubai Turf – but could face stiff opposition from inside his own camp as John and Thady Gosden add star mare Nashwa into the Meydan mix.

The Clarehaven stalwart has relished his trips to the Middle East on Dubai World Cup night, winning the Group One prize for the first time in 2021 before sharing the spoils with Japan’s Panthalassa in 2022 and then returning to sole ownership of the trophy with a ready success 12 months ago.

Not only is Lord North the race’s most successful horse, but his pilot, the evergreen Dettori, possesses a record four victories in the race, with Tamayaz’s win in 1997 supplementing Lord North’s recent hat-trick.

Dettori may have waved goodbye to UK racing, but his long-time allies the Gosdens always had Lord North in mind for a temporary reunion and now horse and jockey will attempt to further etch their names into the Meydan history books.

John Gosden said it was always the plan for Dettori to maintain his successful partnership, despite his move Stateside.

He said:  “He’s training well and we’re confident he’ll put up a very bold show. It was always the plan for Frankie to ride; we discussed it when I said goodbye to him on Champions Day at Ascot in October before his move to America.”

Thady Gosden admitted it would have been hard to break up the pair and said: “Frankie’s won three Dubai Turfs on Lord North, so he knows him like the back of his hand now. To win it once is an achievement but to do that three times is really something special.

“It’s actually the horse’s fifth time out here because of course he came out here during Covid when the race was cancelled, so he knows the place very well – he even comes out here on holiday and does not run! He’s taken to it like he usually does and seems to be in good order.

“He’s eight years old now, so you have to treat him with respect and can’t go running him every week. He had a nice, long break through the summer, which I think he thoroughly enjoyed, and he’s come back better for it. Although he’s a year older, he doesn’t seem to be any different from last year.”

Lord North tuned up for his latest visit to Dubai in his usual spot of the Winter Derby, although this year its new home of Southwell and the extended distance of the Rolleston variation of the Group Three contest meant the 5-4 favourite could only finish a keeping-on second to Military Order.

Having blown away the cobwebs on the Nottinghamshire Tapeta, connections are confident he is raring to go as he returns to his optimum nine-furlong trip.

Thady Gosden continued: “He ran well at Southwell after a long time off the track. He was a bit rusty and normally the race is run at Lingfield over a mile and a quarter, whereas they switched it to Southwell this year over a mile and three furlongs, so it gave the race a completely different complexion.

“He wanted a little bit for fitness there and was taking on a very good, race-fit horse in the winner, but he came out of it well and seems to have switched on for it.”

Joining Lord North on the Clarehaven teamsheet is Nashwa, who added to her Group One haul last term when successful over a mile in the Falmouth Stakes and proved she can mix it with the colts when beaten only a length in the Juddmonte International and when placed in the Irish Champion Stakes won by Auguste Rodin.

Now five, she has proved adept over both a mile and 10 furlongs, while the make-up of this assignment could play right to the strengths of the Classic-winning daughter of Frankel.

“Nashwa is an exceptional filly in a tough race. She needed a couple of races to get her back into the zone (last season), but she’s trained well at home and is in great order,” added the younger Gosden.

“She’s been abroad to France before and Ireland and she’s travelled well. She does everything in a laidback fashion and she’s doing well.

“It’s an incredibly sporting decision to keep her in training. It’s fantastic to see these sort of horses, they don’t come along very often so when they do it’s great when they stay with us.

“She’s a filly by Frankel who runs to a consistent level. She’s obviously run on different types of tracks and has won Group Ones over a mile and a mile and a quarter, so coming here for a race over a mile and one on what is obviously a fast course should suit her down to the ground.”

Charlie Appleby saddles Measured Time, who enhanced his reputation when landing the Jebel Hatta on his most recent appearance and this will be the acid test of the impressive son of Frankel, who has won five of his six career starts.

Appleby said: “He’s two from two out here, winning the Al Rashidiya and then heading on to the Jebel Hatta. The restructuring of the programme means the Jebel Hatta is run at the end of January now, so we brought him back for a racecourse gallop, he pleased us that morning and has done everything right since.

“He’s got to step up now, I know he’s a Group One winner but it’s going to be a different Group One on Saturday night. But he’s a horse we’ve always had a lot of confidence in, he’s pleased us and one hopes he’s going to be very competitive on Saturday.”

Godolphin’s hand is strengthened by a familiar name in Saeed bin Suroor’s Real World, while Facteur Cheval is another well-known European contender, with Jerome Reynier’s five-year-old a consistent operator at the highest level over a mile last term.

Somewhat surprisingly, Aidan O’Brien has never won the Dubai Turf and he relies on highly-respected operators Luxembourg and Cairo to break his duck.

There is a typically strong Japanese hand headed by Yasuo Tomomichi’s Arima Kinen winner Do Deuce and last year’s runner-up Danon Beluga.