Stakes Quotes: Al Rashidiya (G2)

OFFICIAL STAKES QUOTES

AL RASHIDIYA (GROUP 2)
$250,000 | 1800m (turf)
Winner: BARNEY ROY
Pedigree: Excelebration – Alina (Galileo)
Owner: Godolphin
Trainer: Charlie Appleby
Jockey: William Buick
Official Time: 1:47.41 (New Stakes Record)
Track Record: 1:45.52 – Just A Way, 2014
Previous Stakes Record (Meydan): 1:47.85 – Forries Waltz, 2016
Margin of Victory: 2¼ Lengths

William Buick, Jockey, BARNEY ROY (1st)—“He’s very energetic, as you saw, and it wasn’t a concern at all really. He relaxed nice in the race. He’s been off for a while, so he’s entitled to be a little bit fresh, but I suppose in many ways, that’s a performance you want to see from a horse with his previous form and his class. Although Dream Castle, of course, has some form in the book. Good performance from a long layoff and he’s a horse with a lot of gears who will be prepped for something Dubai World Cup night, hopefully.”

Charlie Appleby, Trainer, BARNEY ROY (1st)—“He’s coming into this race and come in here with a bit to work on. He’s a very lightly framed horse, so we don’t do much with him. He was fresh in the paddock and for the first half of the race, but once he got into it, I was always hopeful that his class would prevail and that is what we’ve seen at the end. That will hopefully take the freshness out of him now and hopefully we can work backward from the (Group 1) Jebel Hatta (on Super Saturday, March 7). All being well, it’s one step at a time. We’ll get Super Saturday out of the way and hopefully we can book ourselves a slot for Dubai World Cup night. Visually, from what we’ve seen there, you’d be quite happy to step up to 10 furlongs. He was just touched off in the (2017 Group 1) Juddmonte (International at York Racecourse) and is a class animal. It’s just nice to see him back to his winning ways this evening. Hopefully he’ll gain a bit of confidence there and we can tiptoe toward Super Saturday.”

Christophe Soumillon, Jockey, DREAM CASTLE (2nd)—“He ran much better than last time. He jumped out of the gate quite well. I think the cheek pieces helped him to be more concentrated today. When I came into the straight, I thought he would win easy, but when Barney went, he couldn’t accelerate with him. I think with a race like today, he should improve for the next one.”

Pat Cosgrave, Jockey, MOUNTAIN HUNTER (3rd)—“He ran well and probably ran as good as his rating. He wasn’t quite good enough for the winner or second. The first and second are two top-class horses. He will probably be better coming up in trip, again. He did nothing wrong. I expected my horse to be second or third. Barney Roy is a Group 1 horse in his own right, so good for the team and good for Godolphin.”

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