Jubilee option set to be preferred for Mitbaahy at Royal Ascot

Charlie Hills is looking forward to heading to Royal Ascot with Mitbaahy after the high-class sprinter opened his account for the yard in the Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday.

A five-time winner for Roger Varian, the five-year-old made the move from Newmarket to Lambourn during the off-season after being bought by prominent owner Fitri Hay.

Having finished fourth in the Abernant Stakes and a close-up seventh in the Palace House on his first two starts for his new connections at Newmarket, Mitbaahy journeyed to Ireland at the weekend for a Group Two assignment and swooped late to claim top honours under a well-timed ride from Jamie Spencer.

“We were obviously delighted with him, he was given a good ride,” said Hills.

“He’s shown good form throughout his career and I think he’s one of those horses who is getting a bit better with age.

“He saw out the six furlongs well on a stiff track and I did think the track would suit him. We ran him over five at Newmarket in the Palace House the time before and they were always going a stride too quick for him. Although he wasn’t beaten that far, he could never really get on terms with them.”

Mitbaahy is entered in the five-furlong King Charles III Stakes and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes over six at the Royal meeting, with the latter being his preferred option at this stage.

Hills added: “We’ll go for the Jubilee, I would have thought. He is in the other race as well, so we’ll see what the ground is like nearer the time and make a final decision then.

“He deserves to go there now, absolutely. He beat a couple of Group One horses last week, so why not?”