Dubai: In-form handler John Gosden will be hoping to keep the momentum going when he saddles several high-quality runners in the 2015 July Festival which kicks off at Newmarket racecourse in England on Thursday.

The Englishman has landed no less than 11 major successes this season, including victories in the English and Irish Derbies, and looks to have a strong claims of making a big impact at the three-day extravaganza.

Gosden can begin his charm offensive at British racing’s headquarters by capturing the £100,000 (Dh564,642) Group 2 Princess of Wales’s Stakes, the showpiece event on an action-packed opening day’s racing, with the progressive Mahsoob.

The unbeaten Shadwell-bred colt has impressed at handicap level, but must now show that he can hold his own in Group company when he takes on seven runners including dual Newmarket scorer and Yorkshire Cup (G2) victor Gospel Choir, Jockey Club Stakes (G2) winner Second Step (4/1) and Canadian International Stakes (G1) winner Hillstar.

Mahsoob is owned by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance.

A victory on Thursday is likely to bring him into contention for the Group 1 King George And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in three weeks time.

Angus Gold, Shaikh Hamdan’s racing manager, said in Sportinglife: “I think we’re looking forward to seeing how he gets on at this level and over this trip. It will be interesting.

“John has been very pleased with him since Ascot and tells me he came out of that race very well. Hopefully he can continue his upward swing.

“The King George was an idea we had after the Wolferton [Handicap, at Ascot], but John thinks the horse is very well and takes quite a lot of work, so it makes sense to try and let him win a Pattern race and see how he goes over a mile and a half.

“If all goes well, we can still think about the King George afterwards.”

Another interesting runner is Sheikhzayedroad, owned by Dubai businessman Mohammad Jaber, who was a winner of the Listed Fred Archer Stakes at this track in June last year.

The other Group 2 highlight of day one is the £80,000 July Stakes for two-year-olds.

The race has attracted four placed horses from last month’s Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot including Eltezam (3rd), Sixth Sense (Chesham Stakes 3rd) and the second and third from the Windsor Castle Stakes, Areen and Steady Pace.

The opening £100,000 Group 3 Bahrain Trophy has attracted seven runners, including Godolphin former Derby hope Future Empire and the lightly-race Monotype who represents former Derby-winning owner Shaikh Mohammad Obaid Al Maktoum.

Luca Cumani, trainer of Monotyple, said: “Monotype seems to be very much on an upward curve and has come on quite a lot for his last run. You could say that it is a bold call to go straight from a maiden to a Group 3, but we can be bold sometimes!”

Meanwhile, Amy Starkey, director of Jockey Club Racecourses East Region said that tickets sales for the three-day meeting were up on last year and, with the weather forecast suggesting pleasant conditions ‘everything is set fair for a fabulous Festival of both racing and fashion. ’