Wuheida well ahead of Dahlia return Charlie Appleby reports Wuheida in good shape to begin the new campaign in the Charm Spirit Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket on Sunday. The four-year-old has just returned from a winter in Dubai and is ready to kick-start 2018 in the Group Two contest over nine furlongs. Appleby is looking for a good run from Godolphin’s dual Group One-winning filly, who was last seen landing the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf at Del Mar in November. However, he does expect her to be all the better for the outing. “She’s wintered out there (in Dubai) very well,” the Newmarket trainer told At The Races. “She looks fantastic and well and it’s nice to have her back here. “It’s a nice starting point for her. It is her first race of the season, so she will come on for it.” Wuheida has to give 5lb to all her seven rivals because of her success at the top level last year but still comes out the best on official ratings. The Dahlia Stake also features a French raider in Henri-Francois Devin’s Golden Legend, winner of Listed and Group Three races last season. Devin said: “It will be her first start of the year but she runs well fresh and has already done enough work to be 100 per cent on Sunday. “She took part in a racecourse gallop at Chantilly the other day which should have put her spot-on. “She has won over an extended mile and a quarter but I still think that she has the speed required — she has a good turn of foot.”
