Dubai: Saeed Bin Surour’s Dubai World Cup hopefuls scored high marks in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 2, an important prep race for the $10 million contest that takes place in seven weeks’ time.

Although Prince Bishop was certainly an impressive winner of the 1,900m contest, it was the runner-up African Story who really caught the eye. Considering this was only his first start since last March, that was a mighty pleasing performance and it would have helped to blow away some of the cobwebs.

However, the thing to like about African Story is the way he has matured into a solid middle-distance horse, having previously been campaigned over a mile or less. Perhaps the turning point came in last year’s Dubai World Cup, where stepping up to 2,000m for the first time he ran a big race to finish a respectable fifth to Animal Kingdom. More importantly, I liked the way he was running on strongly at the finish which was an indication of better things to come.

Bin Surour told me was delighted with what he saw on Thursday as African Story really needed that run as he hadn’t seen a racecourse in close to a year.

He hinted that the long-term plan was to run him in the 2014 Dubai World Cup but that he would first like to see how he performs in round three of the Al Maktoum Challenge as it is run over the same distance as the big race [2,000m].

One thing we know, he’s improved physically from last season and has been improving all the time. He has the class and I’m convinced that he will be even better and stronger in the Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3, a race Hunter’s Light won last season en route to taking seventh place in the Dubai World Cup.

It was interesting to see how Godolphin’s principal jockeys Silvestre de Sousa and Mickael Barzalona passed over Hunter’s Light, in favour of getting acquainted with African Story and the highly regarded Artigiano respectively, but he acquittted himself well in the capable hands of William Buick.

Much was expected of Artigiano, the exceptionally well-bred Darley America colt, but he just failed to deliver dropping out of contention at the final turn after leading the field for the first six furlongs.

I’m sure Charlie Appleby and his team will be heading back to the drawing board in this case, but first we will have to see how he comes out of the race.

Artigiano may have missed the whole of last season but was certainly impressive on his comeback last month, where he finish third in the Listed Singspiel Stakes.

Appleby was not the only trainer wracking his brains over the performance of their big-race hopefuls for champion UAE trainer Ernst Ortel must have felt the like he had been delivered a hammer blow when his prime Dubai World Cup prospect, Battle Of Marengo, finished last of the 16.

Once again, the Al Maktoum Challenge threw up some good news, and some bad news for the connections.