Dubai: Former endurance rider Salem Bin Ghadayer has made a dream start to his new career on the flat by saddling Frankyfourfingers to win the Group 2 Al Maktoum Challenge, the middle leg of a series designed to act as a prologue to the $10 million (Dh36.7 million) Dubai World Cup (G1).

Newly appointed as the private trainer to Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, 23-year-old Bin Ghadayer wasted no time in paying back the faith placed in him by delivering a major victory with only his 29th runner at Meydan on Thursday night.

The French-bred Frankyfourfingers was given a confident ride by Mickael Barzalona to narrowly hold-off the fast finishing Prince Bishop (William Buick) to score by a head, while Le Bernardini, a former Grade 3 winner on the dirt in America, was a length back in third.

Bin Ghadayer, who shadowed Shaikh Hamdan across the finish line in top endurance rides in Bahrain and Doha prior to posting some significant performances in the UAE, is now determined to make his mark in the ultra-competitive Dubai World Cup Carnival.

Bin Ghadayer has a string of six horses, acquired through judicious private purchases from leading stables around Europe, which will be campaigned under the banner of Shaikh Hamdan’s fledgling Fazza Racing operation.

“He’s a nice horse who has been training well and we’re very happy to win a prestigious race like the Al Maktoum Challenge,” he said. “We’ll bring him back for the third leg of the Al Maktoum Challenge on Super Saturday [March 7] but the dream is the Dubai World Cup.

“It has been a dream start to my career and I would like to thank Shaikh Hamdan for giving me the opportunity to train high-quality horses like Frankyfourfingers. I’m looking forward to saddling my first Group 1 winner this season and then, fingers crossed, who knows what will happen. But I couldn’t be more pleased with the start our team has made.”

Barzalona was delighted with Frankyfourfingers’ performance and said: “He ran a great race, it’s a big win for the team and it’s a reward for all the work that they have put in.

“I was lucky to get the lead and set my own pace. I could feel my horse was starting to slow down the last furlong. I was asking for the maximum. He showed he has a lot of spirit.”

While Bin Ghadayer was celebrating his first major win, Godolphin handler Saeed Bin Surour had to endure a big defeat when his Dubai World Cup winner African Story trailed in seventh behind the winner after never making an impression on the dirt.

However, Bin Surour said the horse deserves another chance to prove himself on the surface.

“African Story was disappointing. He did not like the kickback, but this outing was his first start for a long time and we will try again with him in the third round of the Al Maktoum Challenge,” he said.

“I was happy with Prince Bishop’s performance — he was only beaten a head on his first start on dirt. He will also go for the third round of the Al Maktoum Challenge.”

Earlier in the evening, Bin Surour, a seven-time champion at the Carnival, helped himself to a ninth UAE 1,000 Guineas success when he saddled fast-improving Local Time to win Thursday’s renewal of the Fillies’ Classic, which was first run in 2001.

Ridden confidently by stable jockey James Doyle, the daughter of Invincible Spirit confirmed her superiority over her five rivals, including three who had chased her home in the Guineas Trial three weeks ago — Good Place (Adrie De Vries), Shahrasal (Dane O’Neill) and Ad Idem (Christophe Soumillon).

More importantly, Local Time established her effectiveness on the new dirt surface, which has been a cause of concern to several connections, for a success that will take her to the Group 3 UAE Oaks over 1,900m (February 26).

“I’m really happy with the progress that she has made since last season and the way she has handled the switch from turf to dirt,” Bin Surour said. “She clearly likes the surface and I believe the further they go the better she will be.

“Obviously we’ll take her to the Oaks, which is a longer trip than today’s [1900m], but I’m sure she’ll handle it and, yes, she looks like a very exciting horse for the future.”

Local Time will bid to follow in the footsteps of former Bin Surour-trained stars Ihtimal (2014), Cocoa Beach (2008) and Satin Kiss (2005) who completed the Guineas and Oaks double.