Global Weekly Preview: Looking to regain the winning habit on 'Super' card

Trainers are creatures of habit, don't let anybody tell you otherwise. When they find a formula that works, they stick to it.

Twelve months ago, British trainer Roger Varian aimed his stable star Postponed at the G1 Sheema Classic on Dubai World Cup night, taking in one prep race beforehand.

Not surprisingly for a G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner, Postponed lived up to his reputation and duly lifted both prizes without too much fuss.

In fact, the son of Dubawi managed to put together six wins on the trot, a sequence that only ended when he finished a creditable fifth to talented Irish filly Found in the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at Chantilly in October.

It looks like Varian is attempting a repeat this year. He is set to saddle Postponed in Saturday's G2 Dubai City Of Gold at Meydan, and this prolific winner has a big advantage over his nine rivals if official ratings have any relevance.

Godolphin trainer Saeed bin Suroor will saddle three runners to take on the highly-rated Varian contender -- he has Famous Kid, Prize Money and Memorial Day -- while in the same race, Charlie Appleby sends Emotionless on a mission to test his stamina over 2,410m (a mile and a half).

That is what Dubai's 'Super Saturday' has become - a time to test and discover.

This is a race day very like 'Arc trials day' in Paris. Three weeks before the big day, so plenty of time to have a 'feeler,' recover, and then be tuned up for the grand occasion.

In the Southern Hemisphere this weekend, there is an abundance of Classic races, all run within a matter of hours.

A total of 16 runners face the starter in the G1 Australian Guineas at Flemington, Melbourne, while 14 have been declared for the G1 Rosehill Guineas in Sydney. It is hard to imagine so many having Classic aspirations, thus providing two such strong races despite an unfortunate clash of fixtures.

In New Zealand, two very good colts, Sacred Elixir and Savile Row, meet in the G1 New Zealand Derby, which should prove another noteworthy Classic.