Adayar poised for Gordon Richards return

Charlie Appleby targeting a 10-furlong Group One strike this term.

Adayar, whose 2022 campaign was restricted to two outings, will start to make up for lost time when reappearing in the bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown next month.

After triumphing at Epsom in 2021, the Charlie Appleby-trained Adayar became the first Derby winner in 20 years to follow up with a victory in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.

His four-year-old season was delayed until Doncaster’s St Leger meeting, after which he went down by just half a length to Bay Bridge in the Champion Stakes at Ascot.

Adayar (right) locked in battle with Bay Bridge in the Champion Stakes
Adayar (right) locked in battle with Bay Bridge in the Champion Stakes (John Walton/PA)

Appleby wants to give the son of Frankel further opportunities to pick up a Group One over a mile and a quarter this season, with the Group Three Gordon Richards as the starting point before Royal Ascot.

“The plan is to run Adayar in the Gordon Richards and then the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot, both over a mile and a quarter,” said the Moulton Paddocks handler.

“He will have a lot of summer targets, but winning a Group One over that trip will look good on his CV.”

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