Doyen still has plenty of class - Bin Suroor

Doyen will bid for back-to-back wins in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond Stakes tomorrow with trainer Saeed Bin Suroor hoping the entire has returned to his brilliant best.

After running out a smart three-length winner of the race 12 months ago, the five-year-old has been beaten on his three subsequent outings and trailed home fifth in the Hardwicke Stakes on his most recent outing.

Doyen will wear blinkers for the first time in the midsummer showpiece.

“After the King George last year, we took Doyen to Ireland and then to Newmarket for the Champion Stakes and he disappointed so we decided to give him a rest,” Bin Suroor told www.godolphin.com.

“When he was in Dubai for the winter and until three weeks before he ran at Royal Ascot at York, he wasn’t showing us a lot.

“But then he started to work better and we were happy with him. He is a class horse and we thought he could go and run a big race in the Hardwicke Stakes.

“We checked him out thoroughly after he ran badly in Ireland and at Newmarket last year and also after York but found nothing wrong. He was not the real Doyen in those races.

“We thought the ground could have been the reason for his disappointing display at York but I am not sure. He is working fine again and seems happy.

“We still believe that Doyen has plenty of class and hopefully he will perform better on Saturday.”