Legalized will run the Jumeirah 2000 Guineas on the turf at Meydan

The Argentine colt, who will be ridden by James Doyle, changes surfaces after his failure in the UAE 2000 Guineas (G3)

Legalaized goes for a quick rematch at Meydan / JUAN I. BOZZELLO

DUBAI, Emiratos Árabes Unidos (Special for Turf Diario).- They say here that trainer Musabbah Al Mheiri was not at all happy after the very poor performance that the Argentinecolt Legalaized delivered a couple of weeks ago in the UAE 2000 Guineas (G3), which he entered as one of the candidates after a great local second-place finish on debut.

The professional's expectations were enormous for the son of Dabster, who finished last behind Six Speed (Not This Time) nearly 80 lengths back, being pulled out of the race at the turn when James Doyle, his jockey, eased him up. As it turned out, no physical problem justified such a debacle, but rather the always complicated kickback of Meydan, which the bay owned by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum did not like at all—a positive bit of news amidst a bleak outlook at the stable.

Well, there will be a rematch for Legalaized on Super Saturday, as this Thursday he was one of the 9 confirmed to run the Jumeirah 2000 Guineas (L-1600 m), switching dirt for turf, a surface on which, at San Isidro, he won the Clásico Manuel Anasagasti (L) by several lengths and with great ease, defeating, among others, Coro de Rojas (Daddy Long Legs), Sargento Morris (Gouverneur Morris), Forgging (Forge), and Liberto (Hurricane Cat).

Once again with Doyle in the irons, the Argentine will carry 60 1/2 kilos, giving each of his opponents a 4 1/2-kilo advantage for being born in the Southern Hemisphere. Breaking from post 2, his main rival will be Pacific Avenue(Dubawi), one of the three Godolphin cards in the race, who boasts graded placings in Europe at age 2 and is coming off a third-place finish 3 1/2 lengths back in the Al Rayyan Mile Cup (G2) in Doha, Qatar.

Also from Godolphin and under the wing of Charlie Appleby, Talk of New York (Wootton Bassett) arrives undefeated after winning comfortably on debut at Kempton, England, in mid-October on synthetic track. William Buick, the stable's official jockey, will be in the saddle. With the Coolmore silks and prepared by Simon and Ed Crisford, Title Role (Too Darn Hot) joins the group of main contenders, bringing a fresh and comfortable victory here under the same conditions in which he will compete now.