For Willie Mullins read Charlie Appleby: how Godolphin trainer’s dominance is suffocating the Dubai Carnival

It is not just the pre-Cheltenham fare in Britain and Ireland that fails to fire the imagination. Friday afternoons at Meydan used to be an attractive alterative option for those in search of competitive racing, but it's sad to relate that too has become a thing of the past.

The Dubai Racing Carnival has gone the same way as jumping. For Willie Mullins, read Charlie Appleby's Godolphin stable. What was once a series of beguiling turf races has become a procession, with Appleby streets ahead. The opposition must be as demoralised as those rivals who chase Mullins' horses in vain.

Appleby's stats are nothing short of astonishing. Even his bare strike-rate of 21 winners from 52 runners does not tell the full story as those 21 winners have come in just 31 races that he has contested. He has saddled the first two home on five occasions.