Bold Silvano returns to Meydan Racecourse tonight after a year off the track and the trainer Mike de Kock is "nervously optimistic" about the chances of his charge in the Group 3 Firebreak Stakes.
The six year old was an easy winner the Al Maktoum Challenge a year ago, prompting many to consider the horse as the most likely winner of the Dubai World Cup before he was scratched due to injury.
Bold Silvano was only "85 per cent" fit last year, according to his trainer, before winning by just under two lengths from Godolphin's Spring Of Fame, but this time De Kock believes he has the bay in excellent condition.
"He stood in his box for around five months so I am relieved we have got him to the racetrack," he said. "He's spent his first three months back on the treadmill. I've done as much work as I can do with him. I don't think he's that far off."
Bold Silvano is officially the highest rated thoroughbred on tonight's card and while he was entered to defend his crown, De Kock decided to drop him back to 1,600 metres, a tactic he has used before.
Eagle Mountain fractured a pelvis in Dubai during the 2007/08 season but subsequently set a course record time over an inadequate trip at Newmarket on his first start for nearly a year and De Kock clearly hopes for a big run tonight.
"I would be disappointed if Bold Silvano didn't fight the finish out because I think he has shown us enough to be competitive. He's fresh, so he'd run well over a mile, so I'm nervously optimistic.
"You never know when horses come back from injury whether they want to dig deep when the chips are down, but I have a gut feeling that he wants to run and he looks fantastic."