Godolphin will be hoping Sajjhaa can provide a little light relief after trying week with victory in Sunday’s Piguet QEII Cup at Sha Tin in Hong Kong.
Sheikh Mohammed’s outfit have endured a dark few days with Mahmood Al Zarooni’s British Horseracing Authority hearing grabbing all the headlines, but Sajjhaa will be aiming to get the show back on the road.
Trained by Saeed bin Suroor, the six-year-old made massive strides over the winter months in Dubai, winning the Group One Jebel Hatta before landing the Dubai Duty Free on World Cup night at Meydan.
Sajjhaa steps back up to 10 furlongs for this richly-endowed heat but Bin Suroor was pleased enough with her draw in stall eight of 14 runners.
He told www.godolphin.com: “I am happy with Sajjhaa’s draw – eight is a lucky number in Hong Kong – and she can hopefully take a nice position early on in the race.
“She cantered over a mile and a quarter on Thursday morning and I am very happy with her condition.”
Hong Kong horse of the year Ambitious Dragon is the leading local hope and he will start from stall six.
Mike de Kock’s South African raiders Igugu and Treasure Beach will break out wide from 10 and 12 respectively, while Japan’s Eishin Flash, trained by Hideaki Fujiwara is wider still in 13.
