Godolphin are yet to win the English Derby in their Royal Blue silks but Ghaiyyath might just be the horse to put an end to their wait should he continue to prosper from his exciting Group 3 Autumn Stakes victory on Saturday, day two of Newmarket’s Dubai Future Champions Day Festival.
Ridden by the supremely confident William Buick, the imposing son of Dubawi recorded a 1¾ length victory over Dream Today, the mount of J P McDonald, with Frankie Dettori and Purser a further 2½ lengths back in third.
British bookmakers were quick to take note of his performance with Sky Bet cut his price to 20/1 from 25s for the Epsom Derby on June 2, 2016 while Boylesports even went as low as 14/1 for the British blue riband. However, Ghaiyyath is still a best price 33/1 with the the world’s biggest bookmaker, William Hill.
Buick told ITV Racing “It was a nice performance. He bunny-hopped out of the stalls and I wanted to be closer than what I was. But they went a nice gallop and he travelled sweet throughout and won well in the end.
“He gave me a nice feel. He’s a big horse who is going to be better next year.”
Appleby, who on Friday saddled First Nation to win the Rowley Cup Handicap, said “We took a lead this time. To be fair, we had got it in our minds that we would pop out and make the running again, but they were going a sensible enough gallop and William was happy to get him in a nice rhythm.
“We were confident he had come forward from his last run. Mentally he is going the right way now, more than anything.
“Going forward, he is a horse that His Highness (Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai) had a lot of faith in.
“We will decide if we look at something else. He is in the Racing Post Trophy (Doncaster), but potentially we might put him away for the year. We will talk about that on Monday.
“I think staying will be his forte. This horse will get a mile and a quarter to a mile and a half, no problem.”
Meanwhile, US Navy Flag led home 1-2-3-4 finish for Irish hander Aidan O’Brien in the Group 1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes.
Stablemates Mendelssohn, Seahenge and Threeandfourpence finished second, third and fourth respectively.
The winner supplied O’Brien with a 24th Group 1 success of 2017,
Ridden by the supremely confident William Buick, the imposing son of Dubawi recorded a 1¾ length victory over Dream Today, the mount of J P McDonald, with Frankie Dettori and Purser a further 2½ lengths back in third.
British bookmakers were quick to take note of his performance with Sky Bet cut his price to 20/1 from 25s for the Epsom Derby on June 2, 2016 while Boylesports even went as low as 14/1 for the British blue riband. However, Ghaiyyath is still a best price 33/1 with the the world’s biggest bookmaker, William Hill.
Buick told ITV Racing “It was a nice performance. He bunny-hopped out of the stalls and I wanted to be closer than what I was. But they went a nice gallop and he travelled sweet throughout and won well in the end.
“He gave me a nice feel. He’s a big horse who is going to be better next year.”
“We were confident he had come forward from his last run. Mentally he is going the right way now, more than anything.
“Going forward, he is a horse that His Highness (Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai) had a lot of faith in.
“We will decide if we look at something else. He is in the Racing Post Trophy (Doncaster), but potentially we might put him away for the year. We will talk about that on Monday.
“I think staying will be his forte. This horse will get a mile and a quarter to a mile and a half, no problem.”
Meanwhile, US Navy Flag led home 1-2-3-4 finish for Irish hander Aidan O’Brien in the Group 1 Darley Dewhurst Stakes.
Stablemates Mendelssohn, Seahenge and Threeandfourpence finished second, third and fourth respectively.
The winner supplied O’Brien with a 24th Group 1 success of 2017,
© Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2017. All rights reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
