MENDELSSOHN’S was not the only good time on a Dubai World Cup card that delivered more than it sometimes has done. In particular, Benbatl ran fast (127 timefigure) when winning the Dubai Turf by a clear margin from the Japanese trio Vivlos, Real Steel and Deirdre.

The Saeed bin Suroor-trained four-year-old is at least as good at this nine furlongs as the 12 at which he was fifth in the Derby at Epsom, and, as stated before, he could well have a big say in races like the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Eclipse this summer.