Jubilee option set to be preferred for Mitbaahy at Royal Ascot

Charlie Hills delighted with weekend effort at the Curragh.

Charlie Hills is looking forward to heading to Royal Ascot with Mitbaahy after the high-class sprinter opened his account for the yard in the Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday.

A five-time winner for Roger Varian, the five-year-old made the move from Newmarket to Lambourn during the off-season after being bought by prominent owner Fitri Hay.

Having finished fourth in the Abernant Stakes and a close-up seventh in the Palace House on his first two starts for his new connections at Newmarket, Mitbaahy journeyed to Ireland at the weekend for a Group Two assignment and swooped late to claim top honours under a well-timed ride from Jamie Spencer.

“We were obviously delighted with him, he was given a good ride,” said Hills.

“He’s shown good form throughout his career and I think he’s one of those horses who is getting a bit better with age.

“He saw out the six furlongs well on a stiff track and I did think the track would suit him. We ran him over five at Newmarket in the Palace House the time before and they were always going a stride too quick for him. Although he wasn’t beaten that far, he could never really get on terms with them.”

Mitbaahy is entered in the five-furlong King Charles III Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes over six at the Royal meeting, with the latter being his preferred option at this stage.

Hills added: “We’ll go for the Jubilee, I would have thought. He is in the other race as well, so we’ll see what the ground is like nearer the time and make a final decision then.

“He deserves to go there now, absolutely. He beat a couple of Group One horses last week, so why not?”

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