Adayar makes the perfect return to action at Newmarket

Former Derby and King George winner Adayar showed a clean pair of heels to his four rivals in the rescheduled bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes at Newmarket.

Charlie Appleby’s Frankel entire had been sidelined for 11 months before winning a conditions event at Doncaster in September and followed that with a half-length defeat to Bay Bridge in the Champion Stakes at Ascot.

Making his seasonal bow as a five-year-old, William Buick’s mount was sent off the 5-6 favourite for the 10-furlong Group Three contest, which was saved after Sandown’s card was abandoned last weekend.

Despite the soft ground, his supporters never had any cause for concern, as the Godolphin-owned runner tracked stablemate Highland Avenue, himself making his return after 428 days off.

While James Doyle set out to make all, Adayar settled superbly in behind and taking it up on the bridle approaching a furlong out, William Buick’s mount lengthened with the minimum of fuss, striding clear to win by two and a half lengths.

Anmaat, who had a 5lb penalty for winning the Prix Dollar at ParisLongchamp in October, was a little keen early on, but stayed on well under Jim Crowley to overhaul Highland Avenue for second late on.

Adayar was subsequently cut to 7-2 (from 6-1) for the Coronation Cup and 16-1 (from 33-1) for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Coral, with Betfair going 7-2 from 9-2 for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Appleby is keen to head to the Royal meeting.

He said: “It’s tiring ground out there, he got tired and didn’t handle the dip, but good horses can overcome those negatives and still do what he’s done today.

“I’m very pleased to get him back on track, he’s had a nice experience out there today and he will definitely come forward for the run, so I’d imagine now it’s all systems go for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

“He and Hurricane Lane are two great racehorses and it’s great to get the pair of them back this week. We feel the mile and a half is going to be Hurricane Lane’s division this year and I’ve always wanted Adayar to try to win a Group One over a mile and a quarter as it will look very good on his CV.

“Better ground at Ascot would suit him, for sure. They went a sensible gallop today, but I think in a Prince of Wales’s where he’ll get a good, strong gallop to run at it will suit him really well, and we know he loves Ascot.

He added: “It was a frustrating time having to sit through the summer with him last year. We saw some great racehorses, but we had a horse that we were very excited about in the spring miss three-parts of the season. Hopefully we’ll make a bit of headway again this year.”

Owen Burrows was happy with Anmaat in defeat.

He said: “It was a solid run. I thought we were up against it giving 5lb to Adayar and he’s run his race. He needed to get his season started so I thought it was a good solid run. He battled away and it’s tough out there, it’s hard work.

“It was his first run of the year and we were giving away 5lb, so it’s solid. He’s in the Tattersalls Gold Cup in around three weeks’ time and the Prix d’Ispahan in France, so we’ll see how he comes out of this.

“We might try him over a little bit further at some stage. I don’t know when, but we’ll see.”