Godolphin's Discreet Cat is likely to head straight to the Dubai World Cup on March 31 after a temperature forced his withdrawal from the Lahan Burj Nahaar Stakes, due to be run at Nad Al Sheba on Thursday afternoon.

Connections had been keen to let their unbeaten four-year-old flex his muscles in the Group Three one-mile event, but after detecting a potential problem, they elected to bide their time.

The son of Forestry, currently on offer as the 6-5 favourite with Coral for the upcoming World Cup, is now likely to be given some racecourse exercise to blow away the cobwebs before the big race.

Explaining Thursday's decision, Godolphin's racing manager Simon Crisford said: "It is an inconvenience but one of those things.

"He has a slightly elevated temperature this morning and is obviously far too good a horse to risk. We will just have to give him a racecourse gallop before the big night.

"It is not ideal in terms of his World Cup preparation to miss this race.

"But it is not a disaster, just a hiccup - though we are of course disappointed as we wanted to see him back on the racecourse."