Ghaiyyath took the step up to G3 level in his stride with a convincing victory in the Masar Godolphin Autumn Stakes over a mile on day two of the Dubai Future Champions Festival at Newmarket yesterday.
The two-year-old Dubawi colt, an easy winner of a maiden over the same course and distance on September 28, was slightly slow leaving the stalls and tracked the leaders in fourth of the eight runners under William Buick.
Relegated to a close sixth at the halfway stage he quickened smartly between horses at the two-furlong marker to take second soon after.
Ghaiyyath reeled in Dream Today entering the final furlong and stayed on powerfully in the closing stages to win by a length and three-quarters in a quick time of 1m 35.92s on ground described as good, good to firm in places.
Trainer Charlie Appleby said: “We were confident that Ghaiyyath had come forward from his last run and I was delighted with his performance today.
“We didn’t want to keep making the running and I was very pleased to see him take a lead, get into a nice rhythm and pick up when asked.
“Ghaiyyath is a horse that His Highness Sheikh Mohammed has a lot of faith in. He is in the Racing Post Trophy (G1, 1m, Doncaster, October 28) but potentially we might put him away for the year. We will discuss it on Monday.
“His forte is going to be stepping up in trip, hopefully to a mile and a quarter and a mile and a half, and we hope that he can go for a Derby trial in the spring.
“Physically, he has always been a very imposing horse and a good-looking animal. He is a big horse with a nice-sized engine and has always been enthusiastic at home.”
Meanwhile in Melbourne a close second in the G1 Caulfield Guineas by Kementari and a third placing to Alizee in the G1 Thousand Guineas has confirmed the strength and depth of Godolphin’s Australian three-year-old team.
While the frustration of the two placings was acute, trainer James Cummings shrugged it off as he looked to the future with two of the country’s best three-year-olds.
“Kementari had already shown us he is a genuinely classy colt and he proved it with that run,” Cummings said. “He didn’t have the best of luck, but he put himself into the race and had it won until a few strides from the line.”
