By Tom Frary
He's back. Godolphin's 2021 Derby and King George hero Adayar (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) enjoyed what was an exercise gallop with prize money at Doncaster on Thursday as he marked his low-key comeback in the 10-furlong Hilton Garden Inn Doncaster Conditions S. with a cruise around Town Moor. Settled last of the trio early by William Buick, the 2-7 favourite moved to Masekela (Ire) (El Kabeir) with ease two out and without any prompting bulldozed that rival by 3 3/4 lengths. “You are always a bit apprehensive after so much time off, but full credit to the team as they've done a great job,” Charlie Appleby said. “You just hope he's still got the enthusiasm for it and that was a perfect gallop for him there. The decision as to whether to go to the Arc or Champion Stakes will be made another day but I didn't want him to have a hard race there as he would be going into either as pretty much his first run of the year and I want to avoid the bounce. To be honest, I've worked him harder at home–he enjoyed himself around there.”
Welcome back, Adayar! 👋
The 2021 Derby and King George hero returns with a dominant victory at @DoncasterRaces… pic.twitter.com/Dfil3DX2Tk
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) September 8, 2022
Sidelined with a respiratory infection throughout the spring and summer, Adayar cut his familiar awesome figure returning to remind everyone that he is the power that ruled the Derby and King George. Appleby admitted that Ascot is more likely than ParisLongchamp when quizzed after this command performance in a time that stacked up well with the decent handicap run on slightly quicker ground a day earlier. “Realistically in Europe we've got one more run. I feel 10 furlongs is within his compass at group one level and it wouldn't do any harm on his CV ahead of his stallion career ahead,” he said. “Hand on heart, I'd like to see this horse in the Champion Stakes, but I'm not taking the Arc out of the equation by any stretch of the imagination. I think a mile and a quarter suits him. We saw him last year in the Arc–he travelled supremely well and turning in, if you were a betting man you'd have had your house on him. Unfortunately, ground and that time of year caught him out. We'll certainly be keeping an eye on everything, but we've got to do what's right by our horse and if Baaeed turns up at Ascot he turns up. Hopefully William might go to the Arc! But if the two of them turn up at Ascot it would be great for racing to have two great horses take each other on. It could be testing ground in France and at Ascot and going in there with a fresh pair of legs is always a big advantage. I would have loved to have run him during the summer, but with the hand I've been dealt I'm looking at it as a positive–you're going into the autumn campaign with some fresh legs. We saw it with this horse last year in the Arc and in the Champion Stakes. He'd been campaigned in a Derby and a King George and it told at the end of the year.” Buick added, “He did it nicely and in the way that you'd want him to do it, so he should be able to build from this. We all know how good he is, it's just nice to get a nice comeback run underneath his belt. He's shown his quality and all his zest, so it was very pleasing. It's quite testing ground out there, so for a horse who hasn't run for such a long time you'd imagine he will improve for it.”
The talented dam Anna Salai (Dubawi {Ire}), who captured the G3 Prix de la Grotte and was second in the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas, also has the unraced 3-year-old filly Bedouin Queen (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) and Adayar's 2-year-old full-brother Military Order (Ire). The second dam Anna Palariva (Ire) (Caerleon), who took the G3 Prix d'Aumale almost 25 years ago to the day, also produced the listed-winning and group-placed dup Iguazu Falls (Pivotal {GB}) and Advice (GB) (Seeking The Gold) and Dubawi's G3 Abu Dhabi Championship runner-up Seniority (GB), who fittingly on this day once raced in The Queen's silks. Also connected to the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere-winning sire National Defense (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) and the GI Flower Bowl Invitational heroine Ave (GB) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}), her yearling filly is by Exceed And Excel (Aus).
6th-Doncaster, £50,000, Cond, 9-8, 3yo/up, 10f 43yT, 2:08.13, g/s.
ADAYAR (IRE) (c, 4, Frankel {GB}–Anna Salai {GSW-Fr, G1SP-Ire, SP-Eng, $158,818}, by Dubawi {Ire}) Lifetime Record: 9-4-2-0, $2,035,160. O/B-Godolphin (IRE); T-Charlie Appleby.
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