Old friends were reunited in Dubai on Wednesday morning, with Frankie Dettori and John Gosden on track together at Meydan.
Dettori brought the curtain down on his British career at the conclusion of Champions Day at Ascot, but is now settled in California and enjoying winners at Santa Anita and beyond.
His association with Gosden goes back many years and of the great successes they have enjoyed, a particularly remarkable one has been Lord North. Now an eight-year-old, Lord North will on Saturday bid for a fourth victory in the Dubai Turf – and Dettori was in the saddle for a spin on the training track ahead of the big day.
Gosden watched on intently and was pleased with what he saw, both from his horse and his jockey.
“Frankie looks in very good form, he’s riding fitter and lighter than I’ve ever seen him,” he said.
Gosden and his son Thady have four runners on World Cup night, with Nashwa (Hollie Doyle) joining Lord North in the Turf, Trawlerman (Kieran Shoemark) going for the Gold Cup and Emily Upjohn (also Shoemark) in the Sheema Classic.
The absence of a certain Japanese superstar is a boost for all in the Sheema Classic, but Gosden knows that the requisite luck will be required for all his runners.
“We hope for luck in running, particularly in the Sheema Classic in which there’s no Equinox, which helps matters,” he said.
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