Criterion Touches Down in Newmarket

Triple Australian Group 1 winner Criterion (NZ) (Sebring {Aus}), third in Sunday’s G1 QEII Cup in Hong Kong, has arrived at trainer John Gosden’s yard in Newmarket to prepare for the G1 Prince of Wales’s S. at Royal Ascot. Trained by David Hayes, the 4-year-old’s preparation will be overseen by Gosden’s son, Ben. 

“He’s just arrived there after 24 hours traveling and from all reports he’s settling in fine,” Hayes told racing.com. “Ben will keep an eye on the horse while I’m [in Australia]. I’ll probably head over to England around 10 days before he races.” 

Hayes said the 10-furlong Prince of Wales’s, where he would be expected to meet American Horse of the Year California Chrome (Lucky Pulpit), would be Criterion’s main target, but he also has an option in the one-mile G1 Queen Anne S. a day earlier. 

“If he thrives and settles in quickly, the Prince Of Wales’s is the obvious target but if he takes a week or two to settle in, the Queen Anne would be the better option because I wouldn’t have done much work with him, as I won’t work him hard until he settles in,” Hayes explained. 

Criterion won the A$4 million G1 Queen Elizabeth S., Australia’s richest weight-for-age contest, Apr. 11 for owner Sir Owen Glenn.