Bin Suroor keeping an eye on the skies before confirming Benbatl for Haydock

Saeed bin Suroor is set for another anxious wait to see if conditions are suitable for Benbatl to finally return to action at Haydock on Saturday.

The Godolphin six-year-old, who was last year ranked the joint second-best miler in the world, is entered for the Betfair Superior Mile Stakes with Oisin Murphy booked, but he might be denied a first start since February for the second weekend in a row.

Benbatl was pulled out of last Saturday's Celebration Mile on the morning of the race after heavy rain fell at Goodwood and, frustratingly for connections, a similar situation could arise again.

"He's entered at Haydock but we'll have to see about the weather – if the ground is soft he's not going to run," said Bin Suroor.

"We're trying to find a race for him but the weather is not helping us. We've tried him on soft ground a few times before and he hated it, and we've got to have the right conditions for the horse."

Benbatl is 7-2 favourite generally for the Superior Mile, a race in which he finished sixth of nine three years ago.

He gets into the Group 3 on extremely favourable terms, escaping a penalty and is 11lb clear of his nearest rival on official ratings.

While the ground at Haydock on Sprint Cup day has been either soft or heavy in each of the last four years, clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright is predicting better conditions.

"The ground is good to soft at the moment," he said on Wednesday. "We've had a lovely morning with some rain in the afternoon. We're forecast the odd shower before Saturday and expect the ground to be somewhere in the range of good and good to soft at the weekend."

Kirkland Tellwright: 'We expect the ground to be somewhere in the range of good and good to soft'Credit: Alan Crowhurst

The three-day Sprint Cup meeting starts on Thursday and fresh ground will be provided for Saturday with the stands' side home straight saved for the final day.

The much-travelled Benbatl returned to Newmarket after a terrific start to the year overseas, where he won a pair of Group 2s at Meydan, including round two of the Al Maktoum Challenge on dirt, before an excellent third in the inaugural Saudi Cup at Riyadh.

He was favourite for the Dubai World Cup before the Meydan spectacular was called off in March and has since been held back for another autumn/winter campaign.

Benbatl is entered for the Irish Champion Stakes on Saturday week – a race under consideration for Godolphin superstar Ghaiyyath – but, depending on his Haydock participation, is more likely to wait for Newmarket's Joel Stakes, which he won by five lengths last year.

"The ground is usually soft in Ireland," added Bin Suroor. "There is another race for him at the end of the month, the Group 2 at Newmarket which he won last year."

Benbatl career details

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