Follow Appleby on Super Saturday

uper Saturday promises to be a cracking night of racing at Meydan, featuring a card laden with Group races and can provide plenty of clues for the Dubai World Cup next month.

- Ed Marnane

Charlie Appleby, operating at a remarkable 29.8% strike-rate at Meydan this season, is the trainer to follow and saddles seven runners in four of the nine races.

Mountain Breeze, Appleby's first runner, can claim the Jumeirah 1000 Guineas, Race 2. The Godolphin owned homebred is a smart filly, most recently ran out a resounding winner of the Mawj Stakes on her Meydan debut. She has the measure of the reopposing Octans and Lhakpa and it is hard to see her getting beaten. Champion trainer Bhupat Seemar is responsible for three of the 16 runners in the Al Maktoum Classic, a key local trial for the Dubai World Cup.

Stable jockey Tadhg O'Shea rides progressive Imperial Emperor, winner of two of his three races since joining Seemar. He ran well when second to Walk Of Stars in the Al Maktoum Challenge (Group 1), his sole defeat of the season. Imperial Emperor has a wide draw (15) to defy but he's a horse blessed with early pace and should go well.

Qareeb, winner of the Jebel Ali Mile last month, is improving and is at the top of his game. He's equally effective at Meydan, winning three times and rarely running a poor race since joining Musabbeh Al Mheiri. Qareeb is bidding to give Al Mheiri back-to-back wins in the race after Military Law caused a big upset 12 months ago. Qareeb holds solid each-way claims in the hands of the red-hot Silvestre de Sousa.

Race 7, the Dubai City of Gold, a trial for the Sheema Classic, has been won six times by Appleby and Arabian Crown and Silver Knott, the choice of William Buick, represent the Godolphin trainer. Not seen since finishing third in the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Stakes (Grade 1) at Belmont Park, Silver Knott is the class act and holds leading claims on his Meydan debut.