Buick praise for amazing Ghaiyyath
WILLIAM BUICK proclaimed Ghaiyyath as the best middledistance horse he has ridden after the colt demolished his rivals to land the Juddmonte International at York.
Ghaiiyyath never looked in danger of defeat in the 10-furlong race as he dictated the pace from the front before landing his fourth Group 1 by three lengths from Magical, with Lord North in third
Kameko, the 2,000 Guineas winner, came fourth with 80-1 chance Rose Of Kildare last of the five runners.
“He’s the best middle-distance horse I’ve ridden,” said Buick (above) who partnered Masar to victory in the 2018 Derby. “This horse can do all the things most horses can’t.
“He has an amazing high cruising speed we’ve seen many times from him, and he manages to see his races off as well.”
But Buick would not be drawn into making any bold statements about confirming the form with Enable, whom he had beaten in the Coral-Eclipse, in the Arc over a mile and a half at Longchamp in October.
“It will be a fascinating race,” he added. “It won’t just be those two (Ghaiyyath and Enable) as there are some good threeyear-olds going to run.” Winning trainer Charlie Appleby would relish another crack at the race after the fiveyear-old disappointed in last year’s contest. “Of course, I would love to go for the Arc. It’s the race in Europe we want to win,” said Appleby. “But as we’ve seen today, he’s good over 10 furlongs.”
The Arc is also an option for Pyledriver, who impressed in winning the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur for trainer Willie Muir and jockey Martin Dwyer.
“We are in the Grand Prix de Paris,” explained Muir. “The Leger has been on the cards, but people are saying we should now go for the Arc.”