Saeed bin Suroor has confirmed that his star Benbatl will head to Ascot on British Champions Day at the end of the season to compete in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes after a superb performance at Newmarket last time out.
The five year old has been a fairly consistent horse during his career but last time out showed the best of what he has to offer coming back form 11 months off the track to land the Group Two Joel Stakes.
He brushed aside St James’s Palace Stakes second King Of Comedy trained by John Gosden with ease landing the contest by five lengths going away.
Benbatl has won numerous Group One races in his career and his trainer straight after the race spoke about stepping him up to 1 mile 2 furlongs with him previously winning black type races in Germany and Australia over this distance.
However, the Godolphin handler has since reconsidered and believes his horse is now best off at a mile and on October 19th he will be entered into the QE II who last year was won by Cartier Horse Of The Year Roaring Lion.
(Credit At The Races) Saeed bin Suroor said:"He came back well after the race and the plan now is to take him to the QEII.
“He’s a horse who had been showing his class in the morning and was a Group One winner in the past – he won it well and he’ll be ready for Ascot now.
“A stiff mile is his best trip, I think, but he stays a mile and a quarter. I talked to Oisin (Murphy) and he agrees with me that the QEII is his race and I spoke to Sheikh Mohammed, who gave me the green light for the QEII.
“He’ll be ok with a bit of cut in the ground but we wouldn’t want it too soft.”