Ghaiyyath is targeted at Coronation

GHAIYYATH is set to kick off his campaign in the rescheduled Coronation Cup at Newmarket.

The five-year-old was a 14-length winner of a German Group One last term and a similarly easy victor in a Group Three at Meydan in February.

He had been due to run on Dubai World Cup night before the meeting was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Appleby reports him to be in fine heart ahead of his planned European return.

He said: “His first target is the Coronation Cup at Newmarket on Friday, June 5.

“This year, Ghaiyyath comes to his season in Europe physically stronger, with a winter behind him in Dubai, where he won the Dubai Millennium Stakes at Meydan. Now a five-year-old, he is the finished article.

“He missed his intended Sheema Classic engagement when the Dubai World Cup meeting was cancelled and he was kept ticking over with routine conditioning work at Mahmoom. He travelled back to UK in late April and he has been in full training since at Moulton Paddocks.”

Barney Roy was also victorious in Dubai over the winter, winning the Group One Jebel Hatta on his second outing in March, and Appleby has set his sights on Royal Ascot gold for the six-year-old.

He said: “He showed in Dubai that he is back to his best, and next month’s Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Ascot is his next assignment.

“Barney Roy showed his class, winning twice at Meydan at the Carnival. His turn-of-foot can be devastating. He will also be on our international team later in the year.”

Old Persian could also head to the Royal meeting for the Hardwicke Stakes after winning at the highest level in Dubai and Canada in 2019.

Appleby said: “He’s had the winter off. He was Ghaiyyath’s understudy, and when he wasn’t required in Dubai, the decision was taken to freshen him up for a campaign in Europe, where there are plenty of nice races for him.

“The Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot is a possible early target, and later maybe the Canadian International at Woodbine in October.

“He’s part of the family. He, too, is ear-marked for the international squad in the autumn.”