Dee Ex Bee leaves Mark Johnston to join Dubai trainer for winter target

Dee Ex Bee, who went head to head with champion stayer Stradivarius on numerous occasions during the 2019 Flat season, has left Mark Johnston and joined the Salem bin Ghadayer stable in Dubai for the winter.

Owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, Dee Ex Bee, along with stablemates Matterhorn and Charles Kingsley, have recently been shipped from Middleham to Dubai to winter at Ghadayer's stable.

Johnston said: "We're used to having horses join Godolphin from here over the years but Salem bin Ghadayer is Sheikh Hamdan's main trainer out there so I understand Dee Ex Bee and the others have joined him.

"We've been told we'll be getting them back next year and hopefully they'll do well out there. There looks as if there's only one main race that Dee Ex Bee can go for which is the Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup on World Cup night."

The four-year-old won twice at Group 3 level in the spring prior to finishing runner-up to Stradivarius on the first of three occasions when beaten a length in the Ascot Gold Cup.

Dee Ex Bee was then beaten just a neck by his old rival in the Goodwood Cup in July before finishing second in the Lonsdale Cup at York in August. He signed off for the European season when a close third in the Group 1 Prix du Cadran at Longchamp on Arc weekend.

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