Daliapour, bound for the Dubai Sheema Classic at Nad Al Sheba on Saturday, is reported to have recovered well after becoming dehydrated on the flight out from Hong Kong.

Last year's Coronation Cup winner, now trained by Ivan Allan in Hong Kong, was put on an electrolyte dip and his condition has improved markedly since his arrival.

Allan said yesterday: "Of my three horses, Daliapour has come around quickly and that is why I gave him a 400-metre hit out."

The two other Allan-trained hopefuls in action on the same card, Indigenous (Dubai Sheema Classic) and Fairy King Prawn (Dubai Duty Free), are both also reported to be recovering well after their difficult journeys.

Indigenous did a slow canter yesterday over 800m with Fairy King Prawn covering no more than 600m under a tight hold.

Allan said of the Nad Al Sheba course: "It's a little worn along the outside fence but that's not where anyone ought to be. The course itself is on the good side and not firm which should suit most horses."

Unfortunately, the Nad Al Sheba track suffered its first casualty yesterday morning when David Nicholls' Tayseer was put down after sustaining a serious leg injury during a gallop in preparation for Saturday's $2 million Dubai Golden Shaheen (6f).

Tayseer won eight races, four of them - including the Bunbury Cup and Stewards' Cup - since joining Nicholls. He landed a huge gamble at Newmarket in the autumn of 1999 but arguably ran his best race when beaten only half a length by Sampower Star in the Group Two Diadem Stakes at Ascot in September last year.

However, one man fit and raring to go is Kevin Darley who will ride Pipalong in the big Dubai sprint. The champion jockey injured his right wrist in a fall while riding work at Gerard Butler's stable at the weekend and it was feared he would miss the meeting.

Uttoxeter yesterday confirmed the abandonment of their next meeting tomorrow week. The course remains in an exclusion area and as such, officials have been advised by the British Horseracing Board that the fixture must be called off.

Plumpton's meeting on Tuesday is in doubt following recent heavy rain. A statement from clerk of the course David McHarg yesterday said: "The fixture is already under threat due to the continuing rainfall still being experienced in the south.

"Should the forecast rain continue, an inspection of the course will be held at noon on Sunday to determine prospects for racing."