Barney Roy bids to follow in Ghaiyyath's footsteps in Grosser Preis von Baden

3.17 Baden-Baden
148th Longines Grosser Preis von Baden (Group 1) | 1m4f | 3yo+

Godolphin have taken strong aim again at the Longines Grosser Preis von Baden in Germany, with Barney Roy out to give them a third consecutive win in the Group 1 event.

The six-year-old is already a top-level winner in Germany, having scored in Munich's Grosser Dallmayr-Preis in July, although he finished only fourth in the Preis von Europa last time.

Ghaiyyath romped home to win the Baden-Baden contest by 14 lengths for Charlie Appleby last year – following on from Best Solution's win in 2018 – and James Doyle travels to Germany to take the ride.

Doyle, who takes over from William Buick, partnered Barney Roy to land the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2017 and will be having his first ride since finishing second on Pinatubo in the Prix du Moulin.

Appleby said: "We were pleased with Barney Roy’s first start over a mile and a half in the Preis von Europa, when the soft ground wasn’t to his liking. Looking at the forecast for this weekend, it looks as though it will be a good, sound surface for him.

“His preparation has gone well and he's coming up against a similar group to that he faced last time, so we're hopeful of another decent performance.”

Communique: going for a first Group 1 win on SundayCredit: Edward Whitaker

Barney Roy is one of two British runners in the field along with the Mark Johnston-trained Communique, who finished second in Listed company at Windsor last time. The stable landed a German Group 2 with Dark Vision on Friday and winning rider Franny Norton is on board Communique.

The likely favourite is Torquator Tasso following his fine second in the Deutsches Derby. He was beaten only three-quarters of a length by In Swoop at Hamburg and that rival features in the Grand Prix de Paris on Sunday.

Preis von Europa one-two Donjah and Kaspar also feature along with Quest The Moon, who is looking to build on his second to Barney Roy at Munich.

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