Now that all the building blocks are laid on solid foundations, Godolphin’s imposing presence Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is the complete structure as a mature 5-year-old entire capable of enormous efforts. The latest of those was a once barely-conceivable 2 1/4-length defeat of Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) in Sunday’s G1 Coral-Eclipse at Sandown and he lines up a worthy short-priced favourite for Wednesday’s G1 Juddmonte International at York. This is a race that suits his age group, with the likes of Halling (Ire), Singspiel (Ire), Falbrav (Ire) and Sulamani (Ire) having triumphed over the younger generations in recent times. Boasting the best form and dynamite on the lead, the bay who broke Newmarket’s mile-and-a-half track record in the June 5 G1 Coronation Cup is also on prime territory on York’s “Knavesmire”, which has long been branded the “front-runner’s track”.
It is hard to see fault, but this is a race borne in the county of no-nonsense that respects results over reputation, that saw the only undoing of the great Brigadier Gerard (GB) in its inaugural year and recently of other similarly cramped-odds favourites as Al Kazeem (GB), Golden Horn (GB), Poet’s Word (Ire) (Poet’s Voice {GB}) and Crystal Ocean (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Despite its tendency to favour those on the front end, it is remarkable that of the last 10 winners only the filly Arabian Queen (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was ridden prominently.
Ghaiyyath has three big rivals, with the withdrawal of the G2 York S. winner Aspetar (Fr) (Al Kazeem {GB}) on Tuesday taking out the only live outsider, and they will be keen to seize on any of the favourite’s frailties exposed by this track. Up in trip is Qatar Racing’s June 6 G1 2000 Guineas winner Kameko (Kitten’s Joy), who due to a mixture of circumstance and ill fortune has been winless since the Newmarket Classic. Ballydoyle’s mare supreme Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) could be better than ever in 2020 and HH Sheikh Zayed bin Mohammed Racing’s impressive June 17 G1 Prince of Wales’s S. hero Lord North (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) is impossible to peg down at present.
Charlie Appleby is relishing the prospect of Ghaiyyath passing this test and said, “This could be one of the best races of the season and it is exciting to be part of it. The Juddmonte International is always a great spectacle and it looks a very strong race, but I think they all have to come up to his level. It is the first time the top 3-year-olds will be taking on the older horses at this trip and he is special. You don’t win a Group 1 by 14 lengths like he did in Germany [in last year’s G1 Grosser Preis Von Baden] by being just an okay horse. That day at Baden Baden, the ground rode on the fast side of good. Before that, we thought he was more comfortable on a slower surface but what he has shown us since on quicker ground knocks that theory out of the park.”
“He’s the finished article now and that has a lot to do with it. He’s shown that he has grown up mentally and physically and he has taken his races so well this season. He was digging deep over the final furlong in the Eclipse, yet he came back fine,” he added. “It was no harder race for him than the Coronation Cup, which he won going an end-to-end gallop over a mile and a half in record time. He showed maturity at Sandown. He showed he was manageable in a race, which is the result of growing up.”
Galileo has sired five of the last 10 winners, a record which speaks for itself, and Aidan O’Brien holds the record of six wins jointly with Sir Michael Stoute, so Magical has a lot going for her even allowing for the fact that she is herself a six-time winner at this level. The latest of those to come in England was in Ascot’s Champion S. in October and without Enable and the aforementioned Crystal Ocean in her way would now be boasting five straight successes in this country. The manner of her performances when registering a brace over this trip in The Curragh’s G1 Pretty Polly S. June 28 and G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup July 26 suggests she has been going through the motions in her native land and, perhaps more importantly, have added a new dimension to her running style. Now capable of dominating from the front, she could set up a potential tactical battle with Ghaiyyath should Ryan Moore elect to sit close to the royal blue runner throughout.
“We’ve been happy with Magical’s two runs this year. She’s been to The Curragh twice and won twice and everything has gone well since then,” O’Brien said. “We’ve been very happy with her all the way through this year, really. She’s very comfortable at 12 furlongs, but she stays 10 furlongs really well. She wouldn’t be worried what the ground is, she’s fairly versatile.”
Should Ghaiyyath and Magical get into all-out war, James Doyle could be the chief beneficiary on Lord North who showed a quality previously only hinted at with his romp in the Prince of Wales’s. He has followed a similar route to one of a trio of dual winners of this race in Halling, who also scaled the heights via the Cambridgeshire H., and is in some ways the “dark horse” in the line-up. “It was pretty exceptional, his performance at Ascot. There was plenty of confidence behind him that day and I don’t think there was any fluke about it,” Doyle commented. “He was up against Japan, Barney Roy and Addeybb, who are all solid Group 1 performers. He put them away quite convincingly and he’ll go to York a fresh horse.”
Taken to the G1 Epsom Derby in a spirit of sportsmanship, Kameko emerged from the July 4 blue riband unperturbed and showed his wellbeing in the July 29 G1 Sussex S. Denied a clear passage in that Goodwood mile feature, he ended up in the same position in fourth that he had been at Epsom and neither is a fair reflection of his capabilities. He showed a tendency to race freely in the Sussex and will need to settle better here to have any prospect of matching the older horses, while Oisin Murphy suggested in the immediate aftermath of that contest that he saw his mount predominantly as a miler. This is very much a fact-finding mission for connections of the 3-year-old, who is still unexposed as he tackles this trip for the first time. David Redvers said, “We’re very much looking forward to it–it is hugely exciting. It’s the best race of the year so far, Kameko is our best horse and we’re going to give it our best shot. The feeling in the camp earlier in the year was that a mile and a quarter could be his optimum trip, but he has sharpened up quite a bit of late and got stronger. We have got to try and we’ll see how it works out on the day.”
If Kameko fails to inspire in the International, Qatar Racing and Murphy may still leave York on day one in upbeat mood should the unbeaten ‘TDN Rising Star’ Darain (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}) keep that record intact in the G2 Sky Bet Great Voltigeur S. Owned in partnership with his breeders Watership Down Stud, the 3.5million gns Tattersalls October Book 1 topper comes to the track at which his dam Dar Re Mi (GB) (Singspiel {Ire}) enjoyed one of her finest days in the 2009 G1 Yorkshire Oaks and at which his full-sisters So Mi Dar (GB) and Lah Ti Dar (GB) excelled. Following an impressive debut win at Newbury July 8 with an easy follow-up at Newmarket July 24, he enters unknown territory in terms of stamina but it would be a surprise if he does not possess it. “I think we would have ideally liked to run him over 10 furlongs again, but there wasn’t really a suitable race so we’re going to try 12,” David Redvers commented. “We are guided by what Mr. Gosden wants to do. I think we’re all very excited to see him run and we’ll have a better idea of where he fits in afterwards. I have an inkling 10 furlongs might be his ideal trip, but let’s see.”
Aidan O’Brien saddles another ‘TDN Rising Star’ in Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}), who is re-opposed by Highland Chief (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) and Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) after he beat them with a degree of comfort in Goodwood’s G3 Gordon S. July 30. “We were happy with him at Goodwood. He’d clearly come forward with each of his runs and we were happy with him going into it,” his trainer said. “I don’t think we’re viewing him as a St Leger horse. All going well, he could go for the [G1] Grand Prix de Paris after this. A mile and a half might be as far as he wants to go.”
Mogul was fourth when Pyledriver (GB) (Harbour Watch {Ire}) captured the G2 King Edward VII S. over this trip at Royal Ascot June 16, but was in front when the pair renewed rivalry in the July 4 G1 Epsom Derby. Over seven lengths behind Mogul was 11th there, Pyledriver will be more in his comfort zone here and trainer William Muir is hopeful. “I think he’s got a good chance–he seems in great form,” he commented. “I think he’s a stronger horse than he was six weeks ago. I’ve been saying all year that he’ll get stronger as the year goes on and again next year–he’s not the finished article yet. That’s why I always thought it was a big ask to run him at Ascot and in the Derby, but that isn’t why he finished down the field at Epsom, that was because he got knocked over. I’m very happy with him at the moment and I’m sure he’ll run very well.”
Also in the mix is Hussain Alabbas Lootah’s Roberto Escobarr (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who needs a sizeable jump forward despite impressing with a course win over an extended 10 furlongs July 19. “It’s a big step up for him, but I thought he won nicely there last month and I think he deserves a shot,” trainer William Haggas said. “Whether this is too far too soon, I’m not sure, but I think he will be up to this level in time.”
Also on the card is the G3 Tattersalls Acomb S. for 2-year-olds, with Godolphin’s authoritative Aug. 2 Leicester novice winner Cloudbridge (Hard Spun) likely to start favourite. Trainer Charlie Appleby said, “He won impressively on his debut at Leicester, where he did things the right way round and galloped out strongly at the finish. He was entitled to come on for that run and we’ve seen that at home since. The form of the Leicester race has worked out fairly well, which gives me a bit of confidence. He’s a live player.”
Kevin Ryan is looking for a third renewal since 2016 and puts forward Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum’s Darvel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), who broke his maiden over six furlongs at Ayr July 20. “He’s stepping up a furlong which will suit him. We’re looking forward to running him,” his trainer said.
Marco Botti expects Praise Of Shadows to build on his debut success when he jumps up to Group 3 level in the Tattersalls Acomb S. at York on Wednesday.
Cloudbridge is one of four in the line-up with a winning sole start to their name and another is the Marco Botti-trained Aug. 10 Chester winner Praise of Shadows (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}). “Obviously we like the horse and we thought he was very professional. It’s not easy around Chester, but he handled the sharp track,” his Newmarket-based trainer said. “He quickened nicely and has come out of the race well. This race is a good opportunity to see where we are with him. I don’t think he had a hard race. We are hoping it will be good ground and not soft. We are hopeful and I think he has come on for the run.”
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