Ruled Out Of Breeders’ Cup Due To Muscle Soreness, Ghaiyyath Retired To Stud

Ghaiyyath, the son of Dubawi who put up not one, not two, but three of the four best performances of any racehorse in the world this year, has been retired from racing and will stand at Kildangan Stud next year.

He retires with four G1 victories to his name, three of which he won this year – and all in outstanding fashion: The Coronation Cup, the Eclipse and the Juddmonte International.

Ghaiyyath was a high-class juvenile, breaking his maiden at Newmarket by five lengths before going on to take the G3 Autumn Stakes in October 2017.

Charlie Appleby's charge won the G3 Prix du Prince d'Orange in an unbeaten three-year-old campaign, before reappearing at four to win the G2 Prix d'Harcourt.

Last September, Ghaiyyath recorded his first G1 victory in sensational style, winning the Grosser Preis von Baden by an astounding 14 lengths. This was the best performance in Germany this century.

Ghaiyyath has flourished this year, kicking off his 2020 campaign with another wide-margin Group win, this time taking the Dubai Millennium Stakes at Meydan by eight and a half lengths.

Upon his return to Europe, he added a second top-flight victory to his record, breaking the course record at Newmarket in the G1 Coronation Cup, beating Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck.

Better was still to come, as he beat a field of the highest class in the G1 Eclipse, including Enable, earning him a Timeform rating of 133.

His fourth G1 win came at York this August, where he won a vintage renewal of the Juddmonte International by three lengths, once again making every yard of the running.

Charlie Appleby reported that the plan had been to look towards the Breeders' Cup but in preparation for the race, after a piece of routine work at the weekend, the horse showed signs of soreness behind. After veterinary investigation, the horse was found to be muscle sore.

Charlie Appleby said: “Ghaiyyath has had a fantastic career, winning nine of his 13 races. His high-class cruising speed and relentless style of galloping was a joy to watch and as I have said before, this year he came together both physically and mentally and looked the finished article. It is obviously disappointing not to be taking him to the Breeders' Cup but the exertions of a long season, which started in Dubai in January, were starting to show and the decision has been made to retire him.

“He was an outstanding part of the Moulton Paddocks team and I know that his numerous top-level successes gave our Principal, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, a great deal of pleasure.”

Joe Osborne, Managing Director of Godolphin in Ireland, said, “Ghaiyyath is a great addition to our roster: his superior ability as a racehorse combined with his looks and his pedigree will make him a sought-after option for breeders. We are delighted he will be standing at Kildangan Stud next season.”

Ghaiyyath is bred on the same hugely successful Dubawi/ Galileo cross that has also produced Classic winner and sire of the moment Night Of Thunder.

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Benbatl Eyeing International Return

Saeed bin Suroor’s triple Group 1 winner Benbatl (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) is back in training and eyeing the G1 Juddmonte International at York on Aug. 19 for a potential return to action.

The 6-year-old, a former winner of the G1 Dubai Turf, G1 Grosser Preis Dallmayr and G1 Ladbrokes S., showed a new dimension when winning the G2 Al Maktoum Challenge R2 over the dirt at Meydan in February before finishing third in the inaugural Saudi Cup. He was favoured for the G1 Dubai World Cup before that event was scrapped due to coronavirus.

“Benbatl is well. We gave him a break after Dubai,” said bin Suroor. “In August we will start looking at races for him. He’s in the Juddmonte at York and when we get closer to the race we’ll see how he is.

“Whether he stays in training next year, to go to Saudi Arabia and Dubai again, we’ll have to see how he runs this year and I’ll talk to the boss [Sheikh Mohammed]. He’s a very consistent horse and always shows his class. He’s as good on turf and dirt and ran a big race in Saudi. He was favourite for the World Cup, they all had him to beat.”

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Kameko Could Head For Sussex

The next big aim for Kameko (Kitten’s Joy) remains the G1 Juddmonte International on Aug. 19, but the G1 2000 Guineas winner could take in the G1 Sussex S. en route on July 29, trainer Andrew Balding revealed the day after the colt finished fourth as the post time favourite in the G1 Investec Derby.

“Obviously it was slightly disappointing, because we had huge expectations, but that’s why it is such an important and special race–you only get one chance at it, and it is very difficult to win,” Balding said. “We’ve still got a Guineas winner who hopefully still has the rest of the season ahead of him and some really nice races–he certainly hasn’t lost his ability overnight, that’s for sure. The Juddmonte is top of the list, but whether we have a race before that we’ll just see how he is. The Sussex S. is a possibility if we felt we needed a run on our way to York in between.”

Balding also trained longshot runner-up Khalifa Sat (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire}) and he said of Ahmad Al Shaikh’s colt, “The [G3] Gordon S. at Goodwood, having won there, is a possibility, the [G2] Great Voltigeur too–but they both had hard races yesterday, so it’s probably a little early to say when they’ll definitely run again.”

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