Group 1 racing returns to Britain with Coronation Cup

Group 1 racing returns to England on Friday for the first time since last autumn, while Ghaiyyath races in England for the first time since autumn 2017.

Ghaiyyath is solidly favored in antepost wagering for the Group 1 Coronation Cup, the Friday feature at Newmarket. The 1 1/2-mile fixture usually is held at Epsom Downs, but nothing is usual right now in this post-COVID-19 racing-shutdown world, with the British Horseracing Authority rearranging major races to best fit a new calendar. Racing resumed in England on Monday, with an all-weather card at Newcastle.

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

The move to Newmarket from quirky Epsom probably helps Ghaiyyath, who announced his talent in September and October 2017 with a pair of one-mile Newmarket victories. As important as anything to Ghaiyyath are course conditions: He loves a firmer course and loathes especially soft ground. The Newmarket course as of Wednesday was rated good-to-firm, which is part of the reason Ghaiyyath has been so popular in the betting markets.

Another reason – Ghaiyyath, at his best, is awesome. He last started Feb. 20 in Dubai, winning the Group 3 Dubai Millennium Stakes by 8 1/2 lengths in a performance, coupled with his other peak efforts, that made him favorite for the Group 1 Sheema Classic. That race and the rest of the Dubai World Cup program was canceled because of coronavirus.

Ghaiyyath, trained by Charlie Appleby for Godolphin, is a remarkably powerful galloper who has posted some major wins, none better than a 14-length tour de force in the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden last summer. He does not race often, and his 10th-place finish in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe last October shows how diminished he becomes when the ground is against him, but following a 3 1/2-month break Ghaiyyath should be fresh and breathing fire Friday.

Defoe could prove Ghaiyyath’s strongest rival. Winner of this race last year at Epsom, Defoe also last raced at Meydan in Dubai, finishing second by a nose March 7 in the Dubai Gold Cup, his Sheema Classic prep. Defoe, a 6-year-old trained by Roger Varian, has run two good races at Newmarket and was prepping for the Coronation Cup when he was second there last May.

The two best-known names in the Coronation Cup are Anthony Van Dyck, who won the Derby at Epsom in 2019, and Stradivarius, the best staying horse in Europe the last two seasons, but neither is likely to take down an in-form Ghaiyyath. Stradivarius races over a distance as short as 1 1/2 miles for the first time since October 2016 and likely is tuning up for the two-mile Gold Cup at the Royal Ascot meet later this month. Anthony Van Dyck is 5-0-1-2 since his Derby win and last was seen clunking home 10th of 12 in the Dec. 8 Hong Kong Vase.

The Coronation Cup is the fifth of 10 races Friday at Newmarket. Post time for the feature is 10:35 a.m. Eastern, with the first race at 8:15.