Team Godolphin was expected to clean up on week two of the 2022 Dubai World Cup Carnival and boy did they, winning five of the seven races on a classy night’s action at Meydan Racecourse on Friday.

Four wins came on the turf and were headed by a sweep of the twin Group 2 feature races, the 1800m Al Rashidiya with Desert Fire and the 1400m Al Fahidi Fort courtesy of Naval Crown.

The former was trained by eight-time Carnival champion Saeed bin Suroor, who would go on to complete a three-timer, while Naval Crown raced out of Epsom Derby and Melbourne Cup-winning handler Charlie Appleby’s desert stables in Marmoom.

Bin Suroor’s treble was completed in the finale, a loaded 2000metre Rated Conditions race on dirt which featured the return of G2 UAE Derby winner Rebel’s Romance. He could only manage a well-beaten eighth as Dubai Icon led for almost all of the race, winning by eight and a half lengths under Pat Cosgrave.

It was left to Emirati handler Salem Bin Ghadayer and reigning UAE champion trainer Doug Watson to jostle for a share of the Carnival spotlight, which they did with aplomb. The former took the 1400m UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (Presented By Al Furjan By Azizi) with the hugely impressive Rawy, while Watson took the 1200m Group 3 Dubawi Stakes (Presented By Riviera By Azizi) with in-form sprinter Al Tariq.

Earlier in the evening, Appleby got proceedings off to a positive start when he sent out international favourite Silent Speech to secure a two-length victory in the Dubai Trophy (Presented By Creek Views By Azizi) over six furlongs. 35 minutes later, his Godolphin teammate Bin Suroor unearthed an exciting talent in the form of Island Falcon, a gritty length and a half winner over fancied New Kingdom in the first running of the 1800m Jumeirah Derby Trial (Presented By Park Avenue By Azizi.)

While Godolphin runners may have ruled supreme it was Bin Ghadayer’s American acquisition Rawy who conceivably delivered the performance of the day when outclassing his six rivals to win the UAE 2000 Guineas Trial in breathtaking fashion.

A $240,000 purchase from the Ocala March sale, the fleet-footed three-year-old son of Grade 1 winning Darley stallion Frosted broke well under French ace Mickael Barzalona and quickly assumed control of the contest.

At no point did he look like relenting, pulling clear at the 500 metre mark before excelling himself to cross the line two lengths clear of Uruguay’s last-outing Meydan scorer, Quality Boone. Kiefer, previously unbeaten in Uruguay, ran an eye-catching race in third on his local debut.

Bin Ghadayer was delighted with the performance and the fact that he now had a potential Classic contender on his hands, saying: “Since we bought him from the United States he showed ability. To continue to think about the 2000 Guineas we knew we must run him tonight to see where we are. He proved he has class today, we are happy.

“I don’t think the mile (in the Guineas) will be too much of an issue. He has speed but he also has the stamina to make the mile, he’s a horse with a good temperament. He’s very lovely Everything goes easy with him.”