Three of these are joint top-rated. Meandre ran three times at last year's Carnival, ending up with a mid-division run in the Sheema Classic. True Story makes his debut here after a slightly disappointing summer in the UK though he wasn't beaten far in Group 2 events at Haydock and Windsor after his runs in the Derby and Eclipse. SANSHAAWES needed his opening run here last season before winning two tough handicaps. He then finished runner-up in a Grade 1 before finding the World Cup and QEII at Sha Tin beyond him. He's handed the vote though his stablemate Mushreq has to be a major threat as he won this last year on his return from a long break. Be Ready looked a very useful prospect when landing a Listed contest at Doncaster in 2013 but had a problem in last year's Craven Stakes and hasn't been seen since.
Meandre (FR) 33-1 (9-0) 7th of 15, 3l behind Gentildonna (8-9) at Meydan(UAE) 1m 4f Grp 1 (1) gd in Mar.
True Story 2-1 (8-7) Dwelt keen soon tracked leader, led 2f out, joined over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, ran on, 2nd of 7, 1/2l behind Al Kazeem (9-1) at Windsor 1m 2f Grp 3 (1) gd in Aug.
Samurai Sword 25-1 (9-0) last of 13, 30l behind Vercingetorix (9-0) at Meydan(UAE) 1m 1f Grp 1 (1) gf in Mar.
Be Ready (IRE) 7-4 (9-0) Took keen hold in touch in rear, pushed along over 3f out, ridden and beaten over 2f out, last of 6, 41l behind Toormore (9-3) at Newmarket 1m 3yo Grp 3 (1) gd in Apr.
Izaaj (USA) (9-0) 5th of 8, 8l behind Interpret (9-3) at Jebel Ali(UAE) 1m 1f stks (3yo+) in Dec.
Warbird 11-2 (8-13) Soon led, headed and dropped to 3rd 1f out, no extra, one pace, 4th of 7, 8l behind Afonso De Sousa (9-6) at Dundalk 1m 3f 3yo stks pol in Sep.
Sanshaawes (SAF) (9-0) 9th of 10, 12l behind Designs On Rome (9-0) at Sha Tin(HK) 1m 2f Grp 1 gf in Apr.
Pilote (IRE) 20-1 (8-13) last of 6, 3 1/2l behind Fractional (8-13) at Longchamp(FR) 1m 2f Grp 2 (1) gs in Oct.
