The newest recruit to the Darley stallion roster in Europe and the horse rated the best in the world this year, Ghaiyyath, received another feather in his cap on Friday, 20 November when he was named Horse of the Year and Champion Older Horse at the annual Cartier Racing Awards.
The striking son of Dubawi carried all before him this season, putting up no fewer than three of the four best performances of any racehorse in Europe.
Ghaiyyath kicked off his 2020 campaign with an eight-and-a-half-length demolition of the field in the Dubai Millennium Stakes at Meydan, the race named after his legendary grandsire.
Upon his return to Europe, Ghaiyyath broke the Newmarket course record when landing the G1 Coronation Cup, before beating a high-class field (including Enable) in the G1 Eclipse. His performance at Sandown that day earned him a Timeform rating of 133.
Ghaiyyath’s third top-flight win of 2020, and fourth overall, came in a superb renewal of the Juddmonte International, where he once again made every yard of the running and won by three lengths.
His other G1 victory was in the Grosser Preis von Baden last summer, which his won by an astounding 14 lengths – the best performance in Germany this century.
Ghaiyyath was also talented at two, winning the Autumn Stakes in the fastest time ever recorded at Newmarket, and over a second quicker than Persian King’s victory in the same race.
Ghaiyyath’s trainer, Charlie Appleby said, “I would like to thank everybody involved in the Cartier Awards. To win Horse of the Year and Older Horse with Ghaiyyath has been a fantastic achievement by everyone involved with Godolphin.
“His Highness Sheikh Mohammed has followed this horse very closely from being a yearling through his two-year-old career and thankfully it has culminated in what he has achieved this year. It has been a great feeling for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, all of his family and everyone involved with Godolphin.
“Thankfully, I now pass the baton over to the breeding operation and I am sure they will have a lot of fun and success with him in his career.”
Sam Bullard, Director of Stallions said, “It is a massive privilege to retire a horse of Ghaiyyath’s stature: the highest-rated thoroughbred in the world this year and now a dual Eclipse Award winner.
“Ireland is very much in need of another son of our flagship sire Dubawi. With Night Of Thunder doing so well and unsurprisingly already oversubscribed, Ghaiyyath offers breeders a wonderful opportunity to use a son of Dubawi, bred on the same cross as Night Of Thunder and out of a Classic winner.
“Ghaiyyath is currently at Dalham Hall Stud before he travels to Kildangan and I can report that he is a gorgeous-looking, strong horse which any breeder would be delighted to see.”
