British import Silchester is top choice at Jebel Ali

– Silchester, trained by Helal Al Alawi, made a decent impression on his UAE career debut when winning under leading Irish rider Billy Lee on the opening day of the season at Jebel Ali last month. The lightly raced threeyear-old returns to Jebel Ali today with sound claims of following up in a feature 1800m handicap, Race 4 on the card.

Formerly trained by David Simcock in the UK, he should take plenty of beating and rates the best bet on the card.

In a race in which few others really appeal, Rio Tigre arrives in good heart, having scored on his seasonal return at Jebel Ali two weeks ago, and is fancied to be the biggest threat to the selection.

Dehbashi, the pick of Doug Watson’s three runners, has the benefit of a recent run and, if taking a step forward, should go well in the hands of Pat Dobbs. He has a solid record at Jebel Ali, only finishing worse than second once in five appearances.

The action gets underway with a 1400m Maiden Plate. Superbly bred Mabrook, out of former UAE 1000 Guineas heroine Mahbooba, is highest rated of the 15 runners and holds some interest on his local and dirt debut.

Not seen since running second in a Yarmouth maiden 542 days ago, he has obvious fitness concerns but hails from a yard going well. Being by Dubawi, he should cope with the switch to dirt and is taken to strike for new trainer Satish Seemar and Richard Mullen, the season’s leading rider.

Race 2, a 1400m handicap, looks wide open and Pictograph gets the vote to make a winning comeback after his summer break. He has slipped to an attractive mark, seldom runs a poor race at Jebel Ali and is favourably drawn in stall five. Best Bet: Silchester (Race 4) Best Value: 12 Pictograph (Race 2) Best Swinger: Arch Gold and Tides Rise (Race 5)