Top BC Turf contender Ghaiyyath retired
Ghaiyyath, a four-time Group 1 winner in England and Germany, has been retired and will miss the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Keeneland on Nov. 7, according to a statement released on Monday by owner Sheikh Mohammed’s Godolphin Racing.
Ghaiyyath was diagnosed with muscle soreness following a workout in England over the weekend, the statement said.
A 5-year-old Irish-bred by Dubawi, Ghaiyyath won 9 of 13 starts, winning stakes in four countries. Gyaiyyath won his first start this year in the Group 3 Dubai Millennium Stakes at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai in February. In the spring and summer, Ghaiyyath was in peak form, winning three consecutive Group 1 races in England – the Coronation Cup at Newmarket in June, the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park in July, and the Juddmonte International at York in August.
Trained by Charlie Appleby, Ghaiyyath won eight stakes in all, including the Group 2 Prix d’Harcourt at Longchamp in Paris in April 2019 and the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Baden at Baden-Baden in Germany in September of that year.
In his final start, Ghaiyyath was second as the odds-on favorite to BC Turf candidate Magical in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in Ireland on Sept. 12.
“It is obviously disappointing not to be taking him to the Breeders’ Cup, but the exertions of a long season were starting to show and the decision has been made to retire him,” Appleby said in Godolphin’s statement.
Ghaiyyath will stand at Sheikh Mohammed’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland.
Golden Horde retires
Golden Horde, the winner of the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup for 3-year-old sprinters at Royal Ascot in June, has been retired to stud, according to published reports in England.
Golden Horde, by Lethal Force, won 3 of 10 starts and two group stakes.
Trained by Clive Cox, Golden Horde finished his career with three consecutive losses in Group 1 sprints, including a third in the Betfair Sprint Cup Stakes in England on Sept. 5.
Golden Horde won the Group 2 Richmond Stakes for 2-year-olds at Goodwood Racecourse in England in August 2019 and was later second to the highly regarded Earthlight in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket the following month.