Lord North given green light to defend his crown in the Group 1 Dubai Turf

Lord North is set to defend his crown in the Group 1 Dubai Turf at Meydan on March 26 having come out of his comeback in last week’s Winter Derby in great shape, according to connections.

The six-year-old was running for the first time since landing the nine-furlong contest on Dubai World Cup day in 2021 when chasing home the classy Alenquer at Lingfield last Saturday.

Alenquer is also set to head to Meydan, for the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic, but Lord North is likely to face other British-trained hopes in the $5 million contest, such as the smart four-year-olds Mohaafeth and Saffron Beach.

Joint-trainer John Gosden said: “Lord North was entitled to need his comeback run at Lingfield after such a long spell off and has come out of that in good shape.

"The plan is still to go back to Meydan for the Dubai Turf on World Cup night, which he won last year.”

Lord North, who has earned more than £2.3m in prize-money in a career that has featured wins in the Cambridgeshire and Prince of Wales's Stakes, was an easy three-length winner in the Dubai Turf last year, when coming off the pace to run down the Japanese-trained Vin De Garde.

He is a general 5-1 second favourite for the Dubai Turf behind the Japanese-trained Schnell Meister, who will be bidding to keep the good run of his home nation going after their success on the Saudi Cup undercard last weekend.

Schnell Meister won at Group 1 and 2 level on turf at Tokyo last year before a close second to Gran Alegria in the prestigious Mile Championship at Hanshin in November.

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