Mahbooba Seeks Redemption in Dubai

The five-year-old daughter of Galileo rocketed to racing's upper echelon's after a gutsy series of performances for Mike De Kock's yard at last year's Dubai Racing Carnival. Scoring in the UAE 1000 Guineas against a tough group of fillies, she then went on to place in the UAE Oaks and the UAE Derby.

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Then things went slightly off the rails for the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Al Maktoum-owned Australian-bred.

She shipped to English shores with an eye on the high-valued turf handicap division but could only manage a listed score at Newmarket in September with a string of disappointing performances unfolding over her three-month stint up to that point.

Her lone group-level effort was in the Group 3 Winter Hill Stakes at Windsor in late August when finishing fifth, eight and a half lengths off the winner.

At one point rated as high as 112, she is now floating around 103.

She then shipped to Toronto and had an effort at Woodbine, finishing sixth in the E.P Taylor Stakes before heading back to Dubai for a lay-up.

Mahbooba will be heading back to the track that she really seems to prefer on Friday as she takes to the turf course in the Al Rashidiya Trial against a robust contingent of challengers. Several higher-profile contenders such as Derbaas and Happy Dubai will be in action on the day on an expansive card that sets the tone heading into the carnival's opening stages.

The turf course will be in use for the first time in 2012 this Friday and the Al Rashidiya Trial represents the opening turf contest.

A UAE 1000 Guineas Trial will also be held on the day while the usual assortment of tricky handicaps full of globetrotting company fill out the rest of the card.