GHAIYYATH kicked off a big weekend for Godolphin with a display of raw power in the Coronation Cup.
The five-year-old bullied a top-class field under a ballsy William Buick ride, teeing things up nicely for Pinatubo in tomorrow’s 2000 Guineas.
And in truth, the Coronation Cup, rescued from the postponed Derby meeting, was over after a couple of furlongs as the freewheeling 11-10 favourite stole five lengths on the rest of the field shortly after the start.
Frankie Dettori and Ryan Moore, on Stradivarius and Anthony Van Dyck respectively, held their nerve in the hope that he would come back to the field.
And though last year’s Derby hero Anthony Van Dyck made eye-catching late gains, he was never going to catch the bay monster in front of him, with two and a half lengths separating the pair at the line.
A grinning Buick said: “Last year was a bit of an up and down year but he is one of the flagship horses in the stable. It’s fantastic to get his season off to a winning start, he is a phenomenal horse.
“He is very effective over this trip but I think he will be equally effective back over a mile and a quarter. He has an incredible cruising speed.
“You just have to let him do his thing, he is a big, strong horse. You don’t want to get into a fight with him because there will only be one winner, and it won’t be the jockey.”
Winning trainer Charlie Appleby, who reported Pinatubo to be in rude health ahead of his Classic assignment, confirmed a drop back in trip was on the cards.
Appleby said: “He is the finished article now and he looks a powerhouse. His home work has been so much better this year, he has been really finishing his gallops off.
“I’ve a lot of respect for the other horses in there, they are Classic winners and multiple Group 1 winners, but after half a mile when I could see that William had him in that rhythm, I knew it would take a good performance to catch him.
“Dropping back to a mile and a quarter has always been in our minds. It opens up his options for us this summer.
“The Prince Of Wales’s at the moment might come a bit quick, but we will see how he is over the next week.”
Ghaiyyath slams them in the Group 1 Coronation Cup
A solid return for Stradivarius and Anthony Van Dyck but Charlie Appleby’s freak was too good
pic.twitter.com/Jf3hOwvA4S
— Sun Racing (@SunRacing) June 5, 2020
The progressive Oxted oozed class in the Abernant Stakes and looks destined for big things this season.
He was given a positive ride by Cieren Fallon, who hadn’t ridden a Group winner before today, and when he quickened up just over 2f out it was curtains for the rest.
Trainer Roger Teal will no doubt be eyeing the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot next, for which he is a 12-1 shot with Betfair.
He said: “It has been a stop-start campaign and I had him primed to run in this in April. Thankfully we eased off with him and when we got the date for this we knew what was happening so we stoked him up a bit and God bless him he has done it well.
“He popped out and travelled lovely. I saw him powering up the hill. Cieren said he was just having a bit of a look around, but he did it nicely.”
He added: “My plan is the July Cup with this horse. I think as he won today he is a sprinter on the up. I’ll speak to the owners, as I think they want to go to Ascot. I feel he is a six-furlong horse.”
Don’t give up on Swindler, who was a beaten favourite in the Betway Handicap.
He is quite a highly-strung character, as he showed when he had to be walked to the start by a member of stable staff.
And he was never able to land a blow from out the back of the field off a steady gallop before getting unbalanced when trying to close in the dip.
He will likely go to Royal Ascot for one of the sprint handicaps, and that track (with a big field and strong pace) will be much more to his liking. And the fact there isn’t a 50,000 crowd to fire him up is a bonus!
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