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Dettori eyes glory

The Stetchworth-based rider was refreshingly frank and honest to the assembled media in his assessment of his six other runners on Saturday evening’s racecard during a Press conference held within the Godolphin stables at Al Quoz.

Mendip is seemingly more than capable of going well if transferring his displays on Tapeta onto grass in the Dubai Duty Free, while Rewilding’s odds of Dubai Sheema Classic glory shall presumably shorten in the absence of the pre-race favourite, Snow Fairy.

Meanwhile, in-form South American raider Xin Xu Lin arrives in the emirate in tip-top shape having won five of his seven races to date, with three of those victories coming in the last four trips ahead of the UAE Derby. “Mendip has got lots of ability and, if he can run the same on grass as he does on Tapeta, he’ll have a great chance,” Dettori said. “But, we won’t know that until the night itself. The horse that is going to run a huge race is going to be Presvis (under Ryan Moore), who loves this turf course.”

Presvis then is taken to perform and be a potential bar to outright success for Mendip, but the field will be on a more equal footing for the Dubai Sheema Classic, where Rewilding has as good a shout as any without Snow Fairy. “Rewilding is a lovely horse and it’s going to be wide open now that the favourite (Snow Fairy) is out,” the 40-year-old admitted. “He runs very well fresh and I’m hoping for a good run.”

Dettori’s prospective seat aboard the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Khawlah in the UAE Derby was ultimately undermined by a discrepancy in weight, but he was equally enthusiastic about Xin Xu Lin after receiving some encouraging reports. “I unfortunately cannot do the weight for Khawlah, but this is a new Brazilian horse (Xin Xu Lin) and I’ve heard he’s going really well, so I’m looking forward to riding him,” he added.

But, a horse Dettori thought represented his best opportunity of a track triumph, Skysurfers, has been drawn well away from the rail in the Godolphin Mile, which is a “big, big disadvantage” prior to the start.

“He would’ve had a great chance, but having been drawn in stall 13 – which is a very bad draw – it’s unfortunately going to be very difficult,” he conceded.

Elsewhere, Charlie’s Moment has only an “outsider’s chance” – in spite of a better stall placement – in the Dubai Golden Shaheen, where Dettori feels “Rocket Man will be very hard to beat.”

His only non-Godolphin ride, Prohibit, merely holds “place claims” in the Al Quoz Sprint, with Dettori seeing J J The Jet Plane as the one set to fly to the finish line first.