Thursday's Trackside Report from Meydan

It was pretty difficult to miss perennial Monmouth Park leading trainer Jorge Navarro or the streaking X Y Jet (Kantharos) under ideal conditions beneath the lights at Meydan early Thursday morning.

Navarro, sporting a red pullover, kept a close eye on his charge by the gap on the clubhouse turn as an international cast of about 30 media representatives began to assemble shortly before 5:30 a.m. The gray G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen standout, meanwhile, fitted with plenty of matching attire, including a red bridle, seems to have made the trip from South Florida looking better than ever.

All remained fairly quiet on the well-groomed dirt course–other than some track maintenance–as the sun began to emerge behind some palm trees on the backstretch roughly an hour later as the crowd continued to file in.

Todd Pletcher was immediately in high demand for interviews with local television stations to discuss Al Shaqab's G1 Dubai World Cup contender Mshawish (Medaglia d'Oro).

The California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit) camp, led by the affable father-and-son training team of Art and Alan Sherman, decked out, of course, in their Taylor Made 'Chrome' gear, followed suit with conditioner Dale Romans also joining the fray.

Mshawish led the powerful U.S. contingent onto the track just a tick before 7 a.m., with G2 UAE Derby entrant Frank Conversation (Quality Road) and the aforementioned 2014 Horse of the Year right behind. Last month's GI Donn H. hero continues to be the talk of the backstretch–and rightfully so if Thursday's piece of exercise was any indication–since arriving in the desert.

Trainer Doug O'Neill's right-hand man Leandro Mora snapped some video of Frank Conversation's morning activity from his cell phone while fellow Southern California-based Hoppertunity (Any Given Saturday), understandably a bit lathered, went through some light trackwork as it began to heat up into the low-to-mid 70s °F.

With the sun now reflecting off the spectacular Meydan grandstand, Hong Kong's Gun Pit (Aus) (Dubawi {Ire}), a solid second in the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge Round 3, cornered nicely while hugging the rail. Hard not to love those blinkers of his, too.

Now, back to California Chrome. Alan Sherman immediately showed the dual Classic winner some love upon meeting him–and the smiling exercise rider Dihigi Gladney–by the chute following an easy gallop. He really does look like a different horse now compared to his unforgettable 3-year-old season. That light campaign of his in 2015 may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for the now robust chestnut.

It's hard to imagine that this was the same Keen Ice (Curlin) that finished a flat seventh in Round 3 over a very speed favoring surface after taking a look at him in person Thursday. Could it be as simple as adding blinkers? Guess we'll find out soon enough.

The Alain de Royer Dupre-trained duo of Dariyan (Fr) (Shamardal) (G1 Dubai Sheema Classic) and Vazirabad (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}) (G2 Dubai Gold Cup) went out for a spin with the former keeping a couple of lengths in front throughout. Sloane Avenue (Candy Ride {Arg}) made a nice impression as he shoots to go one better off an extremely painful beat for trainer Jeremy Noseda in last term's G2 Godolphin Mile. Dubai Sheema Classic runner Gailo Chop (Fr) (Deportivo {GB}), winner of the 2015 G1 Longines Mackinnon S. in Australia, galloped smartly while under a snug hold while rounding the turn.

With the majority of the crowd already heading over to the popular 'Breakfast with the Stars' portion of the program held by the adjacent apron, Coolmore's globe-trotting Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})–off since capturing G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase in December–snuck in a bit under the radar while galloping with very good energy despite getting a bit hot.