Hills is targeting Royal Ascot for Mitbaahy

Charlie Hills is excited to take Mitbaahy to Royal Ascot after the elite sprinter made his debut for the yard on Saturday in the Greenlands Stakes at the Curragh.

The five-year-old, a five-time winner for Roger Varian, moved from Newmarket to Lambourn in the off-season after being purchased by well-known owner Fitri Hay.

Following two strong finishes for his new connections at Newmarket—a fourth in the Abernant Stakes and a near-seventh in the Palace House—Mitbaahy travelled to Ireland this past weekend for a Group Two assignment and surged late to win the title under a brilliant 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.”

At the Royal meeting, Mitbaahy is entered in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes over six and the five-furlong King Charles III Stakes, with the latter being his current favourite.

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. He beat a couple of Group One horses last week, so why not?”