The pair battled it out in the closing stages of the Group 1 1000 Guineas at Newmarket with Mawj coming out on top by half-a-length. Her form in Meydan prior to the Classic suggested the filly had improved as a three-year-old and there was no fluke about her success on the Rowley Mile.

Second-placed filly Tahiyra has since boosted the form by winning the Group 1 Irish 1000 Guineas at the weekend for trainer Dermot Weld and will be travelling to Royal Ascot for a rematch with her old adversary.

Saeed Bin Suroor seems pleased with Mawj, saying: "She is in good form. Her win means a lot. It was the third time we won the 1000 Guineas, but it had been a long time since the last one – 21 years.

"Obviously, the Classic races and the Group One races, you have to have the good horses.

"We knew last year she was a good filly, but she is a tiny fillyand you have to look after her. I gave her a break between races, just to allow her to recover. She goes to the Coronation Stakes now." 

When asked about the likely ground conditions, the trainer reiterated his confidence in Mawj: "I don't think the ground matters to her, because she won on softer ground in Dubai also and she came back here on soft ground.

"I think she will handle any ground and we look forward to going to Ascot with her."