USA: Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Yibir has arrived in New York ready for his next overseas assignment in the Man o’War Stakes at Belmont Park on Saturday [May 14].
UPDATE: Yibir only third behind Highland Chief in Man o'War
The $700,000 contest has been nominated for the four-year-old ever since he was narrowly beaten into second in the Dubai Sheema Classic on the World Cup undercard at Meydan.
"We touched down just after midnight and we were into the barn and done by 2am,” said trainer Charlie Appleby’s travelling assistant Chris Connett. “We were very happy with him on the flight. He ate and drank a nice amount of water which is key when you get horses on a plane for that length of time.”
As well as the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, Yibir won the $1m Jockey Club Derby Invitational at Belmont in September last year. However, the homebred son of Dubawi suffered a shock odds-on defeat at Newmarket last time out in the Jockey Club Stakes.
“He's got that bit bigger and filled out and strengthened again,” Connett said, speaking to the NYRA media team.
“He's had two runs this year, one in Dubai where he finished a nail-biting second and then he had a little prep run at Newmarket,” he added. “That race didn't quite pan out the way we'd have liked it to – the ground was a bit softer than he probably really likes and it was an undulating course, but we're excited to get him back to America on quick ground and a nice, level surface.
“I think he likes coming to America,” Connett went on. “The races suit him and plays to his strengths. There's a nice even tempo and he likes to kick off of that.”
As well as the G1 feature, Saturday’s programme boasts four more graded stakes including G3 Peter Pan, the local prep for the Belmont Stakes.
• Visit the NYRA Belmont Park website and the Godolphin website
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