As always, Ireland and France have been quicker off the mark when it comes to the Flat turf season, and Britain joins them this Saturday with the opening meeting at Doncaster, which always provides plenty of interest, not least through the Brocklesby Stakes. This year, fittingly, the first two-year-old race in Britain is run in memory of Bill Turner, whose name was a standing dish in the Brocklesby entries and who died last August at the age of 78. With six victories between 1996 and 2013, Turner holds the record for the number of Brocklesby winners, and his daughter Kathy will aim to add to the family's notable association with the race via her three entries, Martha Brown (Aclaim), Summersadness (Territories) and the perhaps poignantly named Nevernotrememberu (Caturra).It is with some trepidation that we approach this Saturday's Dubai World Cup – a meeting which many had predicted would be called off after the American and Israeli attacks on Iran which began just ahead of Meydan's Super Saturday meeting. Watching missiles being shot from the sky overhead is hardly a relaxing way to enjoy a day at the races, but the sport has continued in Dubai. This Saturday has been saved by the arrival of Calandagan (Gleneagles) and the participation of Forever Young (Real Steel), who had remained in the Gulf after his Saudi Cup victory. Last year's World Cup winner Hit Show (Candy Ride) plus the Breeders' Cup Turf winner Ethical Diamond (Awtaad) add an extra level of interest. Overall, however, the card has been depleted by a number of connections of high-profile horses understandably opting to avoid flying into an unsettled region. Distant Storm's date with destiny It is anyone's guess as to how the current conflict in the Gulf region will affect the breeze-up sales but there was at least another update for the top tier of last year's sale at Arqana, with Accredited getting off the mark at Naas on Sunday. The Siyouni colt from the family of Mohaather was sold by Willie Browne's Mocklershill and was one of four seven-figure lots at the breeze-up sale of last May. Top of the pops was Distant Storm (Night Of Thunder), who was bought by Godolphin for €1.9m from Cormac Farrell, who had himself purchased the colt from his breeder Newsells Park Stud for 90,000gns at Tattersalls October Book 1. A winner on debut last July, Distant Storm was then third in the Acomb before running out the easy winner of the G3 Tattersalls Stakes and finishing third in the Dewhurst. He is unsurprisingly entered in the 2,000 Guineas and, should he oblige on the first Saturday in May, he would not only be the second successive winner of the Guineas for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby to have topped the Arqana Breeeze-up Sale after the ill-fated Ruling Court (Justify), but there would also be a certain poignancy to such a result. Distant Storm is the ninth and penultimate foal of Date With Destiny, the sole offspring of the enigmatic George Washington, who won the 2,000 Guineas 20 year ago.Another of the quartet of millionaire lots at Arqana last year is Zanthos (Sioux Nation), the winner of the G2 Rockfel Stakes for Victorious Forever and the Crisfords. She has 1,000 Guineas entries in both Britain and Ireland. Japan dominates in Germany Another Newsells Park Stud graduate, the Juddmonte International and Grand Prix de Paris winner Japan (Galileo), was responsible for the first three home in the three-year-old maiden at Mulheim on Sunday. Weekend Warrior was the easy winner in the hands of German champion jockey Thore Hammer-Hansen and, along with the second and third-placed Landolfo and Varley, he holds an entry for the Deutsches Derby on July 5. From a first crop of 84 foals, Japan features as the sire of eight of the colts listed in the entries for the German Classic. Star in the making?If you're looking for early Classic pointers, Wareeth (Sea The Stars) should certainly have been inked in your notebook after Friday, even though he doesn't actually hold any entries for Newmarket or Epsom. That is doubtless owing to the fact that, according to jockey Hollie Doyle, Wareeth doesn't do much at home for Archie Watson. Better an afternoon delight than a morning glory, however, and the colt's 14-length romp in the colours of Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum will surely prompt a few fancier engagements in the months to come.Bought from his breeder Sunderland Holdings by Federico Barberini, Wareeth's 510,000-guinea price tag speaks to his decent pedigree, even if he had been let go for just €50,000 as a foal. His dam Shahah (Motivator) won the G3 Prix d'Aumale for Al Shaqab Racing and is out of Elegant Beauty (Olden Times), a half-sister to Lord Howard de Walden's St James's Palace Stakes winner Grand Lodge (Chief's Crown, who later found fame as the sire of Sinndar and Grandera, the latter a half-brother to the aforementioned George Washington.From Cheltenham to Rosehill Aintree aside, it is certainly time to switch the mind off the jumping and on to Classic trials, though this week it will be once again one of the best jumpers who hogs the headlines as Constitution Hill (Blue Bresil) returns to the track at Kempton. This time he will have Ryan Moore in the saddle while Oisin Murphy serves a suspension.Three years ago, when Constitution Hill won the Champion Hurdle, he had Vauban (Galiway) 15 lengths behind him in fourth place. The latter, who had started life on the Flat in France before joining Willie Mullins, has successfully returned to his roots, albeit in Australia. The winner of the G3 Sky High Stakes at Rosehill for the second year running on March 14, the day after his former trainer had won the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Gaelic Warrior (Maxios), Vauban returns to action this Saturday for the G1 Tancred Stakes, in which he will face William Haggas's stable star Dubai Honour (Pride Of Dubai). Also of note among the Tancred entires is Barnavara (Calyx), who was sold for 4.8 million gns at Tattersalls in December to Sugar Whiskey Trading, which, as widely surmised at the time, was a nom de vente of Yulong Investments. Now with Chris Waller, Barnavara is also cross-entered in Saturday's G2 Neville Sellwood Stakes. Across the TerritoriesWhile first-season sires Persian Force, Naval Crown and Caturra all have entries in the Brocklesby, the Haras de Beaumont freshman Sealiway has stolen a march on his peers by siring the winner of the first two-year-old race in France last week, Witchway. Territories, who is now at stud in India, still makes his presence felt in other parts of the world. He supplied the first Irish two-year-old winner of the year in Ruler's Control for young trainer Jack Foley, while he is also the sire of expat Mr Monaco, who landed the G3 N E Manion Cup over the weekend for Ciaron Maher. Bred by Bearstone Stud, Mr Monaco, who won twice for Ralph Beckett before being sold on to race in Australia, is out of the unraced Alle Stelle (Sea The Stars), a granddaughter of Kirsten Rausing's dual Champion Stakes winner Alborada.On the same day, this same family was responsible for Alther Walden, a winner at Newcastle for George Scott and Blue Starr Racing. A gelding by Study Of Man winning in Britain is not in itself unusual but what sets this one apart is that Alther Walden carries a Hungarian suffix. We don't see too many Hungarian-breds racing outside their home country but Alther Walden, who has now won twice in four starts and is set to go up to a mark in the mid-80s, is following in some decent footsteps. Kisber, who was bred at the Hungarian Imperial Stud, was, like Alther Walden, trained in Newmarket (at Palace House, now the site of the National Horseracing Museum) and won the 1876 Derby and the Grand Prix de Paris for Joseph Hayhoe. He ended his stallion career in Germany, where he was champion sire three times. Alther Walden, who was bred by Babolna Nemzeti Menesbirtok, had been bought in utero when his dam Alternanthera (Nayef), a half-sister to Derby near-miss Dragon Dancer (Sadler's Wells), was sold by Lanwades at Tattersalls for 18,000gns. His third dam Alouette (Darshaan) features as the fourth dam of Mr Monaco, and, like, his Hungarian predecessor Kisber, Alther Walden also has a German connection as he was sold as a yearling at BBAG.Age shall not weary himYutaka Take celebrated his 57th birthday last week and is still quite exhaustingly brilliant while others of us of the same vintage find it a struggle merely to get out of an armchair. In 1987, Take was given the JRA Award for the best newcomer in the jockey ranks and, now in his 40th season, not a year has gone by when he hasn't ridden a Graded stakes winner. The latest came on Sunday in the G2 Hanshin Daishoten aboard Admire Terra (Rey De Oro). This was the second run for the grey since he looked to have a jolly old time 'winning' last year's Japan Cup, albeit without a rider on his back. It was good to see him pass the post in front on Sunday with the timeless Take aboard. 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