Will it be Lord Glitters or Lord North who takes the honours in the Dubai Turf?

Dubai Turf Sponsored by DP World (Group 1) | 1m1f | 4yo+ | Sky/RTV

British trainers have been out of luck in the Dubai Turf since the race title was changed from the Dubai Duty Free in 2015, but they must have a serious chance of breaking the sequence when Lord North and Lord Glitters do battle.

Although he hasn't the benefit of race fitness like his main rival, Lord North likes it that way and has won the first start of the campaign for the last three years.

The most notable of those was his narrow defeat of Elarqam in a Group 3 at Haydock last June, which led him to Royal Ascot where he landed his biggest win to date in the Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes.

The five-year-old ran respectably after that in the best company and is ready to start back after plenty of work in Newmarket this spring.

Thady Gosden: 'Lord North is drawn wide but it’s not the end of the world'

Thady Gosden, joint trainer with his father John in Britain but classed as assistant in Dubai, said: "Lord North is drawn wide but it's not the end of the world as they jump off at the top of the back stretch, so they have the whole of the stretch to find a position into the bend.

"He's been taking everything well over here, is nice and fresh and will enjoy the ground as they've done a great job with the watering. Frankie has had a sit on him the last few mornings and he's been pleased with him."

What they say

Charlie Appleby, trainer of Al Suhail
He's come out of the Jebel Hatta well. You always have it in the back of your mind when they run well after a layoff that there could be a bounce factor, but the signs at home have been good. If he improves for his first start of the year, which he should, it will hopefully make him very competitive.

Ali Rashid Al Rayhi, trainer of Eqtiraan
Honestly, we would have preferred if he drew an inner draw or somewhere in the middle. He has done well in training throughout the week and looks good and ready for the race. He's been in good form, but he will have to break well and do the running.

Adrie de Vries, rider of Glen Force
Obviously, this is a big step up in class from the races he has been winning in Bahrain, but we think he merits a crack in this company. His training has been very good and we think he can run a big race.

Saeed bin Suroor, trainer of Land Of Legends
He's coming up against some very good horses but we wanted to give him a chance at this level to see how he gets on. He won the Al Fahidi Fort at the start of the year and should be fine over this distance.

David O'Meara, trainer of Lord Glitters
We're very happy with Lord Glitters and the winter he's had in Dubai. He seems to like this trip and track, and we are really happy with his prep for this race.

Kazuo Fujiwara, representative of Hideaki Fujiwara, trainer of Vin De Garde
The draw in stall five will be suitable for him. He went to the saddling area and paddock ring to get familiarised with it in advance this morning. He is really switching on for the big race.

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