Ghaiyyath set for Coronation Cup Stakes

Dubai - The Group 1 Coronation Cup Stakes will be the main highlight at Newmarket on Friday

Following the resumption of the horse racing season in Britain this week, Dubai-based racing operation Godolphin will be out in full force over the weekend, aiming to add more Group 1 winners to their storied collection.
As British horse racing tries to salvage a season gone haywire because of the global coronavirus pandemic, which was suspended since March 17, this week will witness a restructured calendar with two of the English classics - the 1000 and 2000 Guineas being played out at Newmarket.
Those are set to take place over Saturday and Sunday but in the lead up to that, a highly competitive field, oozing in quality, will line up at the starting gates at the racecourse in Suffolk.
The Group 1 Coronation Cup Stakes, originally set to run at Epsom Downs ahead of the Epsom Derby, will be the main highlight at Newmarket on Friday.
And Godolphin, the illustrious racing operation owned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, have a very strong contender in Ghaiyyath.
The five-year-old with an official rating of 126, is the highest-rated horse in the seven-horse field.
And Ghaiyyath, the son of two Irish Classic winners - 2005 Group 1 Irish 2000 Guineas champion Dubawi and 2006 Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas champion Nighttime, will be primed for an assault against a quality field in the one-mile and four-furlong affair.
Saddled by British handler Charlie Appleby, Ghaiyyath will go up against top stayer and multiple Group 1 winner Stradivarius, the mount of famed Italian jockey Frankie Dettori, as well as Anthony Van Dyck.
Other contenders are defending champion Defoe, owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Obaid Al Maktoum, and Desert Encounter. The duo were contenders along with Ghaiyyath for the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic on Dubai World Cup night, which was postponed to next year.
Ghaiyyath, the mount of 2015 Dubai World Cup-winning jockey William Buick, will be aiming to add his second Group 1 winner in 10 starts after triumphing in the 47th Longines Grosser Preis von Baden, in Baden-Baden. He will break from gate one.
Ghaiyyath, who wintered in Dubai, landed the Group 3 Dubai Millennium Stakes by a whopping 8.5 lengths over last year's winner Spotify, in the eighth horse race meeting of the Dubai World Cup Carnival at Meydan Racecourse in February.
"Ghaiyyath puts so much effort into his races, he was taking a long time to get over his earlier runs. But we have seen a change in him, particularly of late," said Appleby.
"When he won the G3 Dubai Millennium at Meydan in February, he took it much better than his previous races. His post-race condition was much better than before. He is now the finished article. He can be a flagship for Godolphin in the top middle-distance races this year," added the 44-year-old.
Stradivarius presents a strong challenge with John Gosden's charge having had a trophy-laden career by winning the Queen's Vase, the Goodwood Cup thrice, the Ascot Gold Cup twice, apart from triumphing in the Yorkshire Cup, Lonsdale Cup, Doncaster Cup and the British Champions Long Distance Cup.
Anthony Van Dyck, last year's Epsom Derby winner, too cannot be counted out.

Stats
Starts: 9
Wins: 6
2020: Group 3 Dubai Millennium Stakes, Meydan
2019: Group 1 147th Longines Grosser Preis von Baden, Baden-Baden
2019: Group 2 Prix d'Harcourt, Longchamp
2018: Group 3 Prix du Prince d'Orange, Longchamp
2017: Group 3 Masar Godolphin Autumn Stakes
james@khaleejtimes.com
2017: British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Stakes