Only seven have been declared for the featured 1,600m conditions race at Meydan on Thursday evening, with Dane O’Neill electing to ride Shaishee. 

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Silvestre De Sousa was in the saddle four weeks ago when Shaishee pulverised nine rivals over 1,400m at Meydan’s first meeting on their new dirt surface. 

O’Neill said: “He lost his maiden tag in a Jebel Ali handicap last season and then ran some great races in defeat, including a third in the Jebel Ali Sprint.

“He kept on improving and seems to still be going the right way.”

Stable companion Modern History, making his dirt debut and the mount of De Sousa, will be a big danger.

Satish Seemar and Richard Mullen are not represented in the main race but have combined to win five of the 12 Meydan races so far this season. Having only had 11 mounts, Mullen boasts an enviable strike rate and three of their Meydan winners this season are back in action. 

These are headed by Genius Step, a 1,200m handicap winner four weeks ago who bids to repeat that feat on Thursday. 

Mullen said: “He is a horse we have always liked and we hope he is a Carnival horse. This is a tougher task than a month ago but he 
remains in good form.”

He was chased home last time by The Taj, trained by Doug Watson and the mount of O’Neill, and it would be no surprise if they fight out the finish again