Plans for Ghaiyyath next outing not rubber-stamped yet – Appleby

Horse Racing

‘We’re in a very fortunate position to have a horse like him at 10 or 12 furlongs’.

Charlie Appleby has revealed a decision on whether Ghaiyyath goes for the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday week is likely to be made at the weekend.

The Godolphin-owned five-year-old has been a revelation this year and is currently rated the best horse in the world after a hat-trick of Group One victories in the Coronation Cup, Coral-Eclipse Stakes and Juddmonte International.

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He has other possible targets in the autumn, including the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Qipco Champion Stakes.

“We’ve got our eye on the Irish Champion Stakes, but we’ve got another 10 days to go yet so we’ve not rubber-stamped anything,” Appleby told Sky Sports Racing.

“First and foremost he’s come out of the race at York well. If we feel it’s the right race to go for then that’s where we will head. We’ll have discussions with connections during the course of the week and hopefully start to firm up things by the weekend.

“We’ve seen what he can do over the mile and a quarter, but we’ve not got to go too far back to what we saw in the Coronation Cup when he broke the track record at Newmarket.

“His last two starts over a mile and a quarter have been very impressive, but I felt he was impressive enough in the Coronation over a mile and a half. We’re in a very fortunate position to have a horse like him at 10 or 12 furlongs.

“We’ve got the Arc, we’ve got Champions Day at Ascot and we’ve got Breeders’ Cup in the picture as well. We will do what’s right for the horse. The signs are good so far.”

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Charlie Appleby Irish Champion Stakes

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