Tuz aims to double-up at Meydan

UAE Champion sprinter Tuz, winner of the Golden Shaheen (Group 1) last March, is the star attraction at Meydan today, when he bids for back-to-back wins in the Dubawi Stakes.

- Ed Marnane

Trained by Bhupat Seemar for Dakki Stable, Tuz made a stunning comeback in the Al Garhoud Sprint, slamming his six rivals under a typical positive front-running ride from regular pilot Tadhg O'Shea. Rated 119, Tuz is the class act of the race and will be tough to beat. He can provide Seemar with his third successive win in the Group 3 contest.

Doug Watson's useful sprinter Colour Up, third in last season's Dubawi Stakes, has a good record at Meydan, winning twice and only once finishing out of the top four in ten appearances.

He shaped nicely behind Tuz last month, despite enduring a troubled passage and should strip fitter for that run, his first start in 251 days. Colour Up is the main threat to the selection on his second start of the campaign.

First run in 2007, the Zabeel Mile, the Group 2 highlight of the card, has been dominated in recent years by Charlie Appleby. The Godolphin trainer has won four of the last six runnings and saddles Ottoman Fleet and Noble Dynasty in this season's renewal.

Riding arrangements suggest the former, the choice of William Buick, is the pick of Appleby's pair on his first start in five months. Winner of seven of his 20 races, the globe-trotting six-year-old enjoyed a successful campaign last year, winning the Earl Of Sefton Stakes at Newmarket before adding Grade 2 and 3 victories at Churchill Downs.

The son of Sea The Stars, a reliable and consistent type, holds strong claims of finally opening his account at Meydan, a venue at which he hasn't tasted success in six previous appearances.

Appleby has booked James Doyle, fresh from winning the Qatar Derby on Supercooled for Wathnan Racing, to ride Noble Dynasty. Doyle and Appleby teamed up to win the Zabeel Mile with Zakouski four years ago.