Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor believes Thunder Snow is on track to defend his Dubai World Cup title despite finishing second behind Capezzano in the Al Maktoum Challenge.

The sire of Helmet tired out midway through the 10-furlong contest and had to settle for second, finishing eights lengths behind a confident Capezzano.

It was Thunder Snow’s first race since finishing third in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Churchill Downs in November and has three G1 wins and seven in total from 21 starts.

The bin Suroor-trained horse has proved before he can do it all, with two turf G1 wins and success in last year’s Dubai World Cup on dirt.

And despite suffering a comprehensive defeat in the dress rehearsal race, the 52-year-old said Thunder Snow would continue to improve in time for March 30.

Bin Suroor said: “He got tired, just like we said (he would) before the race. He will improve from the today and will be ready in time for World Cup night. He will be fine.”

Jockey Christophe Soumillon insisted he was satisfied with second, after achieving the same result in the Al Maktoum Challenge last year, and then going on to seal Dubai World Cup honours in dominant fashion.

He said: “I’m very happy. The winner, I knew before the race that he would be tough if he got to the lead with a steady pace and that’s exactly what he did.

“I’m very happy with Thunder. He always improves from his runs. If you look at last year, at the same period of the season, (this effort) was even better than then (when second in the same race). I’m very confident with him going forward.”