THE Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan is under way, and there were a couple of Group 2s on last Thursday week’s card. Benbatl did not have to be near his best to win a slowly-run Singspiel Stakes easily by nearly five lengths (timefigure of just 58) but Kimbear ran a solid 112 figure in short-heading Secret Ambition and North America in Round One of the Al Maktoum Challenge on dirt.

Other useful times were recorded by Ekhtiyaar (112) in the opening sprint handicap and by Zakouski (102) in the mile handicap, both of them on turf.