Barney Roy stars as Godolphin dominate G1 Jebel Hatta

Barney Roy continued his brilliant start to 2019 when leading home a Godolphin 1-2-3-4 in the G1 Jebel Hatta Sponsored By Emirates Airline on Super Saturday, 7 March at Meydan, UAE.

The six-year-old, an easy winner of the G2 Al Rashidiya over the same course and distance at the end of January, tacked across from his wide draw and was covered up towards the rear of the 13-strong field by William Buick.

Barney Roy took closer order turning in and showed an electric turn of foot after being switched out in the straight, reeling in Spotify (James Doyle) over half a furlong from home before powering clear to score by a length and three-quarters.

Magic Lily (Mickael Barzalona) stayed on strongly to take second, with Spotify coming home third as Charlie Appleby saddled the first three home. Dream Castle (Christophe Soumillon), successful for Saeed bin Suroor in the 2019 Jebel Hatta, made good late headway to finish fourth to complete a Godolphin clean sweep.

Charlie Appleby said: “Coming into the race, it was never going to be easy viewing because of his draw in stall 12. William and I spoke about it and decided that he would have to play the brave man’s route by dropping Barney Roy in and riding for luck. He was over-racing a bit and, to be fair to William, he has kept the horse where he needed to be and allowed him to do it all the right way round. Once William got him organised in the straight, he was away and class prevailed in the end.

“Barney Roy is always going to need a good gallop because he is so enthusiastic. Spotify was running on his own merits and has run a great race, while Magic Lily has put up another game performance. She has won a Balanchine, a Cape Verdi and now finished second in a Jebel Hatta. She has been a credit to herself and the team.

“Most importantly, Barney Roy was the horse that we were looking to book his ticket in the G1 Dubai Turf and we can look forward to World Cup Night (Saturday, 28 March) with him now.

“I think we have to see how Magic Lily comes out of this race before committing her to the Dubai Turf. She came into this race as well as we have ever seen her – her coat wasn’t right in her previous two runs and she has only really come right in her coat over the last 10 days. She is tough and we will see.”

William Buick said: “We had a very tricky draw in 12 and I had to ride Barney Roy the way I did. Although there were a lot of horses in the race that had very little chance, we still had to pass them all from our position, and Barney Roy travels very strongly. I brought him out in the straight and, when he picked up, he settled the race quite easily.

“He has a huge cruising speed and that is obviously helped by his huge stride. He loves a flat track like Meydan as it allows him to use his stride – when he is out in the open air, he is quite exuberant in the way he moves.

“It’s a testament to the horse and the team at home, who have done a great job with him ever since he stepped into the yard.”