Dubai: Jockey Paul Hanagan has spoken of the ‘tough decision’ he had to make in choosing to ride Massaat rather than Tashweeq — the other runner of owner Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance — in the Group 1 Dubai Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket’s Rowley Mile Racecourse on Saturday.

At £500,000 (Dh2.8 million), Europe’s joint richest Group 1 juvenile event alongside Friday’s Dubai Fillies’ Mile, the Dubai Dewhurst is the second-day highlight of the inaugural two-day Dubai Future Champions Festival.

It has attracted a strong field of seven runners, featuring a showdown between the dual Group 1-winning Irish challenger Air Force Blue and the unbeaten Group 2 Champagne Stakes victor Emotionless.

There is a second Irish raider in the shape of last month’s Group 3 Somerville Tattersall Stakes winner Sanus Per Aquam, while the field is completed by the Somerville Tattersall third Adventurous, and Twin Sails.

Hanagan has plumped for Massaat, a son of Teofilo, who won a maiden at Leicester less than three weeks ago and will be bidding to give a farewell victory to his trainer, Barry Hills, in the final year of a superb training career that began in 1969.

Dane O’Neill, Shaikh Hamdan’s second jockey, will ride the John Gosden-trained Tashweeq, winner of the Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes at Doncaster a month ago.

Hanagan said: “Choosing between Massaat and Tashweeq was very difficult, especially as Massaat has only won a maiden whereas I have won a Listed race aboard Tashweeq. But the form of Massaat’s other run [when touched off by last Sunday’s Group 1 runner-up Cymric] has worked out well and that just tipped the balance in his favour.

“Massaat was still very green at Leicester — he hadn’t run for two months and still didn’t know what to do. But I liked the way that he put distance between himself and his rivals when I grabbed hold of him, and then I struggled to pull him up and he went right round the bend after the winning line, which is always a good sign.

“I would be delighted if I could help Barry Hills go out on a big win. But let’s not get carried away, Massaat is a maiden winner in a top Group 1 race and I was very impressed with Emotionless in the Champagne Stakes, when he came past me as though he was still in second gear.

“I sat on Tashweeq again yesterday [Wednesday] and he is also a horse that I like a lot — that’s why it was such a tough decision. He is improving all the time and could run a big race on Saturday.”