Dubai Shuffle has an opportunity to stake his claim for major cups’ honours at Te Aroha on Wednesday.

He holds nominations for a number of feature staying events and a bold showing in the Goldpine Industries Handicap would add momentum to trainer Graham Richardson’s summer plans for the five-year-old.

“He’s desperate for the firm tracks and he’s a pretty smart galloper with the conditions to suit him,” he said. “It keeps raining on the day of his races and he just switches off.”

Dubai Shuffle has had two preparatory mile outings and he will appreciate the step up to a middle distance on Wednesday.

“I’d like to think we can have a go at the City of Auckland Cup and then maybe the Wellington Cup,” Richardson said. “He likes Trentham – the big roomy tracks help him.”

Dubai Shuffle will be joined in the Te Aroha race by stablemates Letmeby and Wairaka.

“It might be a bit firm for Letmeby – he’s getting ready for the Rating 85 race over 3200 metres at Wellington and next year he might be a cups’ horse,” Richardson said. “Wairaka hasn’t been easy and she’s had a lot of bad luck.”

He also has two younger members of the team in good order for the meeting with Deema to resume in the Geoff Brindley Memorial and Brown Girl a form runner for the NZB Insurance Pearl Series 1200.

A younger sister to the Group winner Moozoon, Deema placed in one of her three juvenile outings last season for breeder Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum and Richardson said she is forward to resume.

Brown Girl has been in the money in both her starts and has drawn ideally to add to her family record.

“She’s a three-quarter sister to Dramatist and a half-sister to Alice Webb Ellis (a runner in race five) and Storm Brose, who runs on Saturday,” Richardson said.