Outside draw dents the chances of Mishriff in Saturday's Dubai Sheema Classic

Saudi Cup winner Mishriff had his chances of following up in Saturday’s Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic reduced at the draw ceremony at Meydan on Wednesday when he was handed the widest draw of all in stall ten.

The general 5-2 chance will be tackling a mile and a half for the first time in the $6 million contest, in which trainer John Gosden is seeking a third victory following Dar Re Mi (2011) and Jack Hobbs (2017).

David Egan is to be reunited with Mishriff, who gave him his biggest win in the $20m Saudi Cup in Riyadh last month. The pair also broke from an unfavourable wide draw on that occasion.

Speaking from Dubai, where he is overseeing operations for his father, Thady Gosden said: “Both Mishriff and Lord North are coming out of stall ten in their respective races. The Sheema Classic start is almost straight into a bend, so a wide draw isn’t ideal for Mishriff, but we’ll see how it pans out on Saturday.”

Aidan O’Brien’s runner Mogul was cut to 7-2 (from 5) for the Sheema Classic by Hills after drawing stall one.

Lord North, winner of the Group 1 Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot last year, also comes from stall ten in a field of 14 in the Group 1 Dubai Turf, which should prove less of an issue.

Gosden continued: “There's a long run into the bend from the nine-furlong start, so there should be plenty of time for Frankie [Dettori] to make up his mind whether he wants to go forward or drop in. Both he, Mishriff and our UAE Derby candidate New Treasure breezed nicely this morning and have been in good shape since they arrived at the weekend.”

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Lord North is a general 5-2 favourite for the Dubai Turf, in which he faces stiff British opposition from the David O’Meara-trained Lord Glitters, winner of the Group 1 Jebel Hatta last month, and the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Regal Reality.

The latter will be sporting new colours when he does duty at Meydan as he was sold privately by his breeders Cheveley Park Stud to Peter Done, brother of Betfred boss Fred, over the winter.

Stoute said: “We're just freshening Regal Reality up at the moment and will take him out on the training track most mornings ahead of Saturday's race. He seems to have settled in well at Meydan and we are pleased with how he's travelled over."

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