Ghaiyyath rested, back on firmer turf in Dubai Millennium Stakes

Ghaiyyath is one of the best horses you’ve barely heard of, and his name could feature prominently over the next six weeks in Dubai.

Officially rated 126, the highest among any horse in Dubai this winter, Ghaiyyath makes his first start outside Europe on Thursday night at Meydan in the Group 3, $200,000 Dubai Millennium Stakes. The race, his first since throwing a dud in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last fall, is designed to set Ghaiyyath up for a peak performance March 28 in the $6 million Sheema Classic on the Dubai World Cup undercard.

Make no mistake: Ghaiyyath is a legitimate Sheema contender. His form presents a roller coaster of extremely high-level success and surprisingly troughs, but by now it seems clear Ghaiyyath relishes sufficient time between his racing and a good or firm grass course. Run him back too quickly, as happened last April when Ghaiyyath came back on three weeks’ rest and regressed to finish fourth in the Group 1 Prix Ganay, and Ghaiyyath won’t show his best. And soft ground is a out of bounds for Ghaiyyath, who could scarcely stand up on the rain-soaked course at Longchamp when he finished 13th in the Arc.

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But Ghaiyyath, a 5-year-old son of Dubawi and the Galileo mare Nighttime, has won five of his other six starts for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby, and at his best he can contend at the very top of the game. His Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden last Sept. 1 was an absolute tour de force, Ghaiyyath running out a 14-length winner in that 1 1/2-mile fixture, admittedly over competition not up to his high standard. Maybe that’s who Ghaiyyath is, a horse to boss inferior foes, but the jury remains out in that regard, and even through Thursday’s start is a prep, Ghaiyyath ought to get the better of five foes in the 2,000-meter Dubai Millennium. His competition includes Desert Encounter, who finished eighth in the 2019 Sheema Classic but has won the last two renewals of the Grade 1 Canadian International at Woodbine.

Ghaiyyath runs in the first race on a Thursday card (first post 9:30 a.m. Eastern) that includes the Group 3, $250,000 UAE Oaks, the Group 2, $250,000 Zabeel Mile, and the Group 2, $250,000 Meydan Sprint.

Mythical Magic at 112 and Dream Castle at 110 are the highest-rated entrants in the Zabeel Mile, but Zakouski is the most interesting horses expected to start. The 3-year-old son of Shamardal trained by Appleby for Godolphin raced once late in his 2-year-old season, once during the spring of 2019, and finally got back in action Jan. 9 at Meydan, where he won a 1,600-meter turf handicap by nearly four lengths while appearing to be doing littler more than galloping. Zakouski bursts with upside but no doubt tackles tougher competition Thursday.

Equilateral can take another step toward the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint, part of the World Cup undercard, in the 1,000-meter, straight course Meydan Sprint, where, among others, he faces the American horse, Blitzkrieg. Five-year-old Equilateral, who was gelded over the winter, won a listed 1,200-meter turf sprint last out in his Dubai debut, but though he has run well over Thursday’s shorter trip, Equilateral never has won consecutive starts. Blitzkrieg, trained by Doug O’Neill, finished second of nine in a 1,200-meter turf-sprint handicap, his Dubai debut, on Feb. 6, an encouraging showing, though the chance of regression on the quick turnaround must be kept in mind.

Some nice fillies have won the UAE Oaks over the last decade, but Thursday’s edition of the 1,900-meter dirt race drew only six entrants, Dubai Love, a 3 3/4-length winner of the UAE 1000 Guineas last out, is top-rated at 101 and a likely winner for Godolphin, trainer Saeed bin Suroor, and jockey Pat Cosgrave. New to the local 3-year-old filly division is the Japanese horse Serein, an American-bred daughter of Uncle Mo and Grade 1-winner Tiz Miz Sue who has won 2 of 4 starts, neither at an especially high level, in Japan.