Trillium Place has enjoyed plenty of success at Meydan over the years, including at stakes level.

David is currently applying the final touches to his desert-bound runners, three of whom will line up on Thursday, January 12 – the second of the Carnival’s 10 meetings.

David said: “Our first batch – Majeed, Curbyourenthusiasm and General Macarthur – are going before New Year.

“We have four going in the first week of January and they are Dragon Mall, Polybius, Island Vision and Good Omen. Sheikhzayedroad will be heading out later.”

It is, of course, the latter who is best known. The son of Dubawi, eight from January 1, enjoyed a brilliant 2016 campaign that started with victory in the Group 3 Nad Al Sheba Trophy at Meydan and finished in glory, thanks to his Group 2 Long Distance Cup success at Ascot on Qipco British Champions Day.

David said: “Sheikhzayedroad will start his programme as he did last year – in the Nad Al Sheba Trophy, over a mile and six furlongs. He will then head for the Dubai Gold Cup over two miles on World Cup night.”

David is also particularly keen to see how a couple of his other travellers fare – Dragon Mall, in action at Chelmsford on Thursday , and new recruit General Macarthur who has been based at Ballydoyle until recently.

David said: “General Macarthur is very interesting. He is a new horse to us and has trained well up to now.

“He will run over seven furlongs to a mile and is sure to enjoy fast ground. He has shown up well in his work.

“Dragon Mall, who has a prep run on Thursday, is a talented horse in his own right. I think the track will really suit him and, with a run under his belt, he will go there fit.

“A mile is his best trip but he will run anywhere between seven and nine furlongs.”

David’s style is to prepare his Dubai team over here, so they are pretty much tuned up and ready to race within days of shipping.

He said: “I like the horses to run as close to them arriving off the plane as possible. That’s the plan anyway. If they need their first run, so be it.

“But what’s nice about Dubai is you don’t have to worry about ground differentials and can plan your programme.

“The racing is quite intense over the six or seven weeks of the Carnival – so the horses’ training out there is relatively light.”