Dubai: Charlie Appleby bids to end Godolphin’s long wait for a second Al Fahidi Fort (G1) trophy sponsored by Gulf News, a seven furlong race that has been dominated by South African-trained horses in its 15-year history.

Eight winners, including the last three, have been prepared in South Africa with multiple champion Mike de Kock accounting for six of them and his compatriot Herman Brown two.

Godolphin’s only success in the $250,000 (Dh918,250) contest, which was originally run over a distance of one mile, came courtesy the Saeed Bin Surour-trained Grazalema in 2000.

Appleby sent out Fulbright to finish fifth behind De Kock’s Anaerobio in the race twelve months ago and hopes for a better result with former Classic contender Safety Check.

The four-year-old son of Dubawi finished fourth in the UAE 2000 Guineas (G3) and tenth in the UAE Derby (G2) last season, but began the season on a positive note when scoring over course and distance at Meydan two weeks ago.

Appleby exhibited guarded optimism when he said: “The handicapper put him up to 110 for that win. So basically we have to try him at this level.

“He won well and has been working nicely since, so we just need to see where we stand with him.

“The 1400m on turf appears ideal so this was the obvious race for him.”

Stable jockey William Buick replaces apprentice Cam Hardie who guided Safety Check to victory over Irish raider Another Party on January 8.

The Godolphin trainee takes on nine rivals headed by defending champion Anaerobio, his stable companions Red Ray and Zahee, Michael Halford’s dual Carnival scorer in 2014 Eastern Rules and the local hopes Encipher and Modern History (Musabah Al Muhairi), Shaishee and Ertijaal (Ali Rashid Al Raihe) and Decathlete (Salem Bin Ghadayer).

De Kock’s most famous success in the race came in 2003 with stable flag-bearer Ipi Tombe, a Zimbabwean-bred superstar who would go on to win the Group 1 Jebel Hatta and the Group 1 Dubai Duty Free Stakes during the Carnival that season.

“Anaerobio is just a tough and genuine horse. He has had a nice break since last season and will run his usual honest race,” De Kock said of the 2014 winner.

“Ignore Zahee’s last run as he did not take to the dirt. He will run much better back on turf.

“[He] is, hopefully, the ideal type for the Dubai World Cup Carnival. He is a Grade 3 winner at home and finished last season with two seconds in Grade 1 company.

“The horse has always had a big reputation and has shown us plenty in his work.

Commenting on Eastern Rules’ chances Michael Halford said: “He has been in good form in his work. This looked a good spot to bring him back out. It is a good race as you would expect. but he should run well.”

The main support race on the seven-event card is the $150,000 Friday Handicap over the Dubai World Cup (G1) course and distance of 2000m.

Eleven go to post with the Doug Watson-trained Henry Clay looking to post his second win at the venue where he has also delivered three second-place efforts.

Tha’Ir won a similar race here in February though he’d taken a couple of races to warm up and Godolphin may have a better chance with Urban Dance. He’s only had six races, all bar one at Newmarket where he won twice, and if ready after a break can go well under Cam Hardie. David O’Meara’s pair Fattsota and Robert The Painter return after breaks and may need the run, but ENERGIA FOX was in action at Lingfield earlier this month and the former Brazil Grade 1 performer could prove a blot on the handicap if taking to Dirt. Indiana Jones has some excellent form to his credit in Argentina and we have seen similar types do well here in recent years.

Godolphin’s Bin Surour saddles Tha’Ir, the winner of a similar contest last February while Appleby relies on Urban Dance, a dual winner at Newmarket in the UK.

British-based Italian handler Marco Botti goes in search of a first Carnival win of the season with the former Brazilian Grade 1 performer Energia Fox.