Godolphin get one over Coolmore with narrowest of victories against hot favourite Abraham Lincoln in Superlative Stakes

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Godolphin landed a blow against perennial rivals Ballydoyle when Al Hudaiba left it late to narrowly deny Abraham Lincoln in a scintillating Boodles Superlative Stakes.

William Buick was made to work hard aboard the son of Dark Angel, who jinked right in the closing stages but still did enough to deny the 8-13 favourite following a photo-finish.

Al Hudaiba (fari side) edged out Abraham Lincoln in the Superlative Stakes

The Superlative Stakes photo-finish as Al Hudaiba edges out Abraham LincolnCredit: Racetech

Al Hudaiba has form for misbehaving and would be unbeaten in four starts had he not unseated Tom Marquand when he had the race at his mercy in a Yarmouth novice in May.

"I think he's just a baby," said Buick, who arrived at the track in a Norway shirt and celebrated with a Viking Row ahead of the World Cup quarter-final between Norway and England.

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"He's got plenty of ability and shows that at home. I wasn't sure if I'd won, but I'd have been very cross if we hadn't. He did well to win. He ducked in behind Ryan's [Moore] horse late on, which cost him momentum, so the fact he still got it done is a credit to him. I'm hoping we can iron that out because he's got a lot of ability. You can definitely upgrade that performance."

Al Hudaiba was cut to 16-1 (from 25) by Paddy Power for the 2,000 Guineas, and on the prospect of lining up in the Classic, Buick added: "It's early days. This race always leads on to races like the National Stakes and the Dewhurst, so we'll see.

"He's going to get better with age. The ground is pretty quick out there so maybe he was just feeling that a bit as well."

Al Hudaiba was providing Charlie Appleby with his seventh victory in the Group 2 and third in a row, following the successes of Ancient Wisdom (2024) and Saba Desert (2025).

"He's got a lot of talent," said the trainer. "William said he was happy in the first half of the race and at the three-pole he was wondering how far he was going to win by. But then all of a sudden he started shifting underneath him. Staying on him is the hardest part, let alone getting him to gallop out. He does this at home and it's full credit to those who can stay on.

William Buick performs the Norwegian row as he enters the winner's enclosure on Al HudaibaCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

"I wasn't confident about the photo-finish given how close they were and the luck I've had in recent weeks, but he did well to get his head down and rally again. He's one of those horses who finds life very easy, because he's got that engine, but if he's now going to start stepping into the bigger leagues, he'll have to concentrate a bit harder. I hope he'll grow out of it."

Appleby's Superlative Stakes winners Master Of The Seas (2020) and Native Trail (2021) both went on to contest the National Stakes, which is run at the Curragh in September.

The trainer added: "William said he was feeling the ground, so I'd imagine the National Stakes would be the likely target. Beyond that, we'll wait and see over the coming weeks how the rest of our two-year-olds perform."

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