Classic cracking action in store

A lot of people love this time of year, especially those in the UK and America, as now is the time when many “big guns'' put their Classic credentials on the line.

For me though, while I enjoy the turf flat season back home, it also means that the jump racing campaign has come to a climax, and unless I trot off to Stratford or Worcester (as long as each is not under water!)

I won't get the chance to see the magical Tony McCoy in the saddle until November. Nevertheless, there is still some cracking action to look forward to over the next six months, and with Meydan due for completion in the near future there is plenty to keep us all occupied during the interim.

Meydanspeeds on

I must add the Meydan website is a fantastic place to keep up to date with the progression of the project.

The time-lapse video is exceptional and I'm not even sure if the movie has been sped up or if it really is the pace at which the construction is going. The latter would not surprise me!

The Kentucky Derby is the initial leg of the US Triple Crown, which coincides with Newmarket's 2,000 Guineas on May 2 where Godolphin could be represented by Shaweel who won the rerouted Gimcrack at Newbury before producing a gallant effort when second in the G1 Irish National Stakes for Mark Johnston.

Saeed Bin Surour must have clocked up a few Skywards miles in his time, and it will be interesting whether he decides to oversee proceedings at Newmarket or Churchill Downs on the same day when UAE Derby first and second, Regal Ransom and Desert Party, are likely to line up in the “Run for the Roses''.

In fact, the Al Maktoums could be very well represented in a race that has eluded them all so far, as Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, could rely on Mafaaz who won an egg and spoon Kentucky Derby trial race at Kempton Park in March.

He was since well beaten in the Blue Grass Stakes at the weekend, and obviously has a lot on his plate, but under the tutelage of a certain John Gosden, who has a formidable record with his US runners, he could go well in a race he is guaranteed to start in if connections decide to take their chance.

Forgotten skill

I'm not one for giving tips, in fact a few could say I'd struggle to tip muck from a wheelbarrow (which is true when I think back to my days as a groom, when my stables were perhaps not the cleanest) but it was clear for all to see on Saturday when Forgotten Voice defied trouble in running to score in a valuable handicap on the all weather at Kempton. A horse that has been blighted with injury problems, if the surface at Meydan is not of the traditional dirt elements, maybe connections will consider bringing the chaser-looking four-year-old out to Dubai for the Carnival.