Dubai: Meydan star Safety Check bids to make good on his second UK start of the season and supply Team Godolphin with a third success in the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes, on Saturday, the showpiece race at Newbury Racecourse.
Trained by Charlie Appleby, the four-year-old son of Dubawi completed a hat-trick of wins during the 2015 Dubai World Cup Carnival before finishing third behind new Godolphin recruit, Toormore, in the Group 2 Lennox Stakes at Glorious Goodwood last month.
The mount of retained rider James Doyle, Safety Check faces 15 rivals among them, another Godolphin hopeful, Richard Pankhurst, and a pair of runners representing Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance.
Appleby said: “I think his participation would have to be in doubt. He’s in good form, but he ran in soft ground at Newbury last year and couldn’t raise a gallop.
“If we do take him out, we’ll probably look towards the Park Stakes at Doncaster.”
Godolphin previously won the Hungerford Stakes in 2010 with Shakespearean and Lend A Hand in 1999.
Robert Havlin, who takes the ride aboard the John Gosden-trained Richard Pankhurst, who was last seen winning the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot last June, said: “He has been off the track for a long time, but he has been doing well at home.
“He probably wouldn’t want too much rain, but he is up for a big run. He will obviously come on for it, though.”
Andrew Balding’s Here Comes When, fourth behind Solow in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, is the market leader while Irish-trained Home Of The Brave seeks a second successive Group victory following his success in the Minstrel Stakes (G3).
Shaikh Hamdan won the race in 1998 with Muhtathir and takes his chances with two promising three-year-olds in Adaay and Markaz.
His racing manager Angus Gold said of Markar, who won the Criterion Stakes earlier: “He ran quite well at Ascot, but the feeling was the ground was a bit quick for him.
“We’ve always been keen to try him over seven [furlongs], I don’t see why he won’t get it.
“Hopefully there’s enough rain to allow us to run Markaz, too. He won a Group race at Newmarket last time out.”