DUBAI CARNIVAL:MEATH TRAINER Joanna Morgan made a perfect start to the Dubai Carnival meeting as Miss Gorica landed the opening event at Nad Al Sheba yesterday.

The festival, which runs until the Dubai World Cup fixture in March, always lures a number of European trainers to set up camp in the desert and Miss Gorica bagged over €50,000 as she lifted the seven-furlong Muhtathir Stakes.

Partnered by Ted Durcan, Morgan’s charge was one of the outsiders but showed plenty of guts to fend off both Lessing and British-trained Clifton Dancer in the straight.

“I’m absolutely delighted. Her best trip is six furlongs but Ted Durcan called me and told me to enter her as there wouldn’t be many runners,” said Morgan, who previously enjoyed Abu Dhabi Listed success with One Won One in 2001. “I had pencilled her in for a six-furlong race on January 22nd, but Ted told me there wouldn’t be many running so we luckily went for this instead.

“She didn’t see that much racing last season as the weather was so bad over here and she needs fast ground so she just had a few runs on the all-weather at the backend. I think the slow pace today helped her get the trip but I still think six, six and a half is her best trip so those are the races we’ll be looking at.”

Staff Saeed Bin Suroor and Frankie Dettori combined for a double at the meeting, highlighted by the victory of My Indy in the Group Three Maktoum Challenge I. Racing over a mile on the dirt it was a facile success for the four-year-old as he left Green Coast toiling.

Dettori said: “I was surprised just how easily he has done that and we will have to look at the rest of the Maktoum Challenge. It is a good return to Nad Al Sheba.”

Bin Suroor saddled a winner with his first runner of the season when Sos Brillante ran on too strongly for her rivals in the seven-furlong conditions race for three-year-old fillies. He explained: “That was very pleasing and a good start to the Carnival. We will see how she is before deciding about the Classics.”

Only South Africa’s Mike De Kock has trained more Carnival winners than Bin Suroor and he was in the winner’s enclosure after the following seven-and-half-furlong turf handicap, which he won with Silver Mist. Winning rider Kevin Shea said: “We had a bad draw but I was always going well and he picked up nicely.”

Ahmad Ajtebi rode his first Carnival winner and supplied new trainer Munarak Bin Shafya with his when Third Set won the nine-furlong turf handicap.