Dubai's Godolphin double-handed in Australia

Best Of Days, saddled by James Cummings, will be the mount of Robbie Fradd. - Supplied photo

After a very productive outing last week as the British horse racing season resumed following a hiatus, Godolphin are double-handed in Australia on Saturday.
The Dubai horse racing operation conjured a special victory with Ghaiyyath spectacularly motoring home in the Group 1 Coronation Cup Stakes, apart from a Group 2 win and a couple of podium finishes at Newmarket.
The big meeting is quite obviously the Royal Ascot next week but Godolphin, owned by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, still have runners in Group 3 contests in Australia and Japan over the weekend.
James Cummings, Godolphin's head trainer Down Under, sends out seasoned horses Best Of Days and Gaulois in the Group 3 Ascot Green Eagle Farm Mile in Brisbane.
And it provides an opportunity for the racing operation to conclude the Australian racing season with a victory. The Australian season comes to an end on July 31.
Best Of Days, the six-year-old from Azamour, has won Group 1 and Group 2 contests Down Under as well as in the UK.
But he has undergone a bit of a drought in the past 18 months which Cummings hopes will come to an end at the Eagle Farm Racecourse.
His last outing, a third-place finish in the Gosford Gold Cup at Randwick last month, has given Cummings cause of optimism.
"As a G1 winner he's well placed under these conditions in this company," said Cummings.
"We're switching him back to a mile and putting the blinkers back on - we're very keen to see him win again," he added.
That encounter at Randwick was run over 2000 metres and Saturday's affair will be contested over 1600 metres. And Cummings believes the drop in distance will suit Best Of Days. 
"He's had a nice trial to keep him ticking over after running a good race at Randwick four weeks ago," he said.
"He slid up well in the trial and I feel that coming back to this trip with the blinkers gives him every chance of returning to winning ways," Cummings added.
Meanwhile, Gaulois, the five-year-old son of 2002 Dubai World Cup winner Street Cry, comes into the race on the back of a second place finish in a handicap at Sunshine Coast.
"We've kept him fit in the meantime, mixing things up with him between races, and he's certainly capable of presenting himself as a winning chance. One of the great things about him is that a soft track won't soften his chances," said Cummings.
Meanwhile, Tabarrak, owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Minister of Finance, races in the Group 3 Diomed Stakes at Newbury.
james@khaleejtimes.com