After supervising his eight-year-old through a final piece of speed work under big-race pilot Clifford Lee, the Spigot Lodge handler suggested “three or four” of the additional opponents facing his charge are better than the horses that followed him home last season.

The 2025 second and third, Galen and Military Order, reoppose, but Burke is mindful the addition of French trio Phineas, Baroud and Zaydann, as well as the George Scott-trained Wimbledon Hawkeye, make it an altogether deeper race.

Burke said: “They tell me that 11 is a lucky stall. It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but we’ve got a bit of pace next to us with Lambourn and Galen, and they should go forward.

“He was our first Group winner outside of Europe when winning here and our first runner in Hong Kong. It meant a lot and it was good to get it out of the way, but he didn’t come back in great shape from Hong Kong (after finishing fourth to Romantic Warrior in April).

“To be fair to the horse he’d been on the go for two years, running in Australia, Saudi as well as here and it was pretty non-stop.

“We had to back off him and get him ready for a summer campaign. We got him to York where he needed the run (when fourth behind Item in the York Stakes), and after that I thought he’s a horse that needs to run fresh. That said, from the day we left here we were looking forward to coming back.”

Assessing the opposition in the 13-runner field, Burke added: “There are three or four better horses than were in the race last year, so it’s going to be tough.

“I hope we played our part in getting the race elevated to a Group One, and by going out and winning the Neom (Turf Cup, in Saudi Arabia) afterwards I think we did.

“If he puts up a performance like he did in the Neom when he was very impressive and absolutely slaughtered them he should run into some money.

“I’m more than happy with him, but he’s done more work than he did at the track here last year for the race. He had a little quicken up down the straight and Cliff was very happy with him.”

The Andre and Livinia Fabre-trained Baroud is one of the French contingent that Burke is wary of having been kept fresh since winning the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano at Deauville in the summer.

Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner Imad Al Sagar, said: “We are really excited, I know Imad is thrilled to bring his homebred son of Frankel here.

“After he won in Deauville, Imad wanted to go for a Group One and so the plan was made to come to Bahrain and I think that you just have to find out and why not find out in such a race as this.”

Godolphin’s managing director Hugh Anderson made a good case for Military Order, who has been selectively campaigned since his effort 12 months ago.

Charlie Appleby’s six-year-old was having a first subsequent outing when easily landing a Listed race at Dundalk in late September, beating market rival Geryon by nine and a half lengths.

Anderson observed: “First and foremost he’s an extremely well-bred horse that Charlie always thought had lots of potential.

“He felt he would get better as he got older, which has proved the case, and he’s been prepared for this as well as he possibly could be.

“The draw (stall five) will be OK for him and we think the way this race has developed is a great credit to Bahrain. We will always support it if we possibly can.”

Elsewhere, Saeed bin Suroor delivered a poignant appraisal of the chances of 10-year-old Dubai Future in the Gulf Of Bahrain Stakes, a new addition to the programme worth $400,000 and once mooted for Constitution Hill.

Dubai Future is burdened with top-weight in the staying handicap, and his trainer said: “Every time I’ve thought about retiring him he’s shown me something in the mornings, and when he won so well at Sandown (Group Two Henry II Stakes) I thought we should carry on.

“The weight is a thing, but the horse is in good form. He’s been with us a long time in our stable and we love him. If he runs well maybe we will take him to Dubai, if not I think we will retire him.”