Dubai: Aljamaaheer will bid to win the prestigious Darley July Cup (G1) at Newmarket on Saturday to continue a vintage season for Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance.

One of the world’s most influential owners and breeders, Shaikh Hamdan has already notched two major Group 1 victories in the UK this season, with Mukhadram in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown last week and Taghrooda in the Epsom Oaks in June.

A high-class son of Dubawi, who is trained in Newmarket by Roger Varian, Aljamaaher takes on 15 rivals led by the Eddie Lynam-trained duo of Sole Power and Slade Power, as he bids to secure his first victory at the highest level and add to Shaikh Hamdan’s Group race winning spree.

“He is in very good condition at the moment and we really want to bag one of these top races with him,” Varian said.

“He is still adjusting to new race conditions as this is only his third try at sprinting, but he is getting better at it and the track at Newmarket should suit him.”

Aljamaaheer gained his first Group victory last year, when winning the Summer Mile Stakes at Ascot. However, since dropping back in distance to sprint races this season, he has acquitted himself well and even finished just one and three-quarter lengths behind Slade Power in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.

“Royal Ascot probably represented a step forward on his Abernant Stakes run and he would have been in second place in another stride,” said Varian. “He has got a length and three-quarters to make up on Slade Power — it’s a tough division and we have got to turn the form book around.

“But, without fishing for excuses, I still think that it is fair to say that he still has another couple of pounds improvement in him, and he will need to improve for that on his Ascot run.”

Slade Power, the ante-post favourite. will make his first start under the ownership of July Cup sponsors Darley. Together with King’s Stand Stakes (G1) victory Sole Power, he forms a formidable team trained by Lynam.

Aidan O’Brien is represented by Due Diligence, second to Slade Power at Ascot, while Spanish raider Noozhoh Canarias, who was sixth in the 2,000 Guineas early in the season, is another interesting contender.

American trainer Wesley Ward runs Undrafted and, together with other notable speedsters like Rex Imperator, Moviesta, Hot Streak, Justice Day and Astaire, make up a mouth-watering renewal of a race that is part of the British Champions Series and Global Sprint Challenge.