• PA Sport Reporters
• May 5, 2023 2:57 pm

Mill Reef winner has done everything right so far.

Sakheer “could not be in better condition”, as connections bid to find out whether or not he will stay the trip in Saturday’s Qipco 2000 Guineas.

The Zoffany colt had three starts, all over six furlongs, for trainer Roger Varian last term and ended the season scoring with ease in the Group Two Mill Reef at Newbury. He steps up to a mile for the first time in the Newmarket Classic with owners KHK Racing Ltd seeking clues as to his future path.

Sakheer pulls clear to win the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes@varianstable has the golden touch today with a record-breaking 6th of the afternoon!#ITVRacing pic.twitter.com/b7dAKntWms

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) September 17, 2022

Their racing manager, retired trainer Chris Wall, said: “He has been working well and I know Roger has been happy with his preparation, which has been trouble-free.

“He will go there and do the best he can. There are obvious doubts about his stamina, which will only be answered when we run him on Saturday, but he is in good condition and we will hope for a good run.

“Ideally we wouldn’t want too much more rain. I was a little exasperated to see that (clerk of the course) Michael Prosser had started to water the track, which seems rather an unnecessary thing to do, given that we have had the wettest spring for 40 years, but there we go. That’s a problem for him.

“The horse couldn’t be in better condition and we’re looking forward to the day. Whatever he does, it will confirm plans one way of the other as to which route we go down in future.

“He’s a very talented horse, but we’re not sure yet what his best trip might be.”

Aidan O’Brien’s pair of Auguste Rodin and Little Big Bear dominate the betting with Dewhurst hero Chaldean the main threat, according to bookmakers.

Chaldean, trained by Andrew Balding, will provide Frankie Dettori with his last ride in the race after the Italian stated his intention to retire at the end of the year. The Frankel colt went into Newbury’s Greenham Stakes as a short-priced favourite, but unseated Dettori leaving the stalls on his seasonal debut.

Speaking in his blog for World Pool, Dettori said: “The Rowley Mile at Newmarket has given me some great memories over the years. Mark Of Esteem in 1996 was probably the greatest 2000 Guineas finish I ever rode in. That was my first win and I remember it being such a thrilling finish.

“Island Sands three years later was also a memorable one, with it being the only 2000 Guineas run at the July course. And then I can’t forget Galileo Gold in 2016. That win kick-started the comeback for me, so I’ll be forever thankful to Sheikh Joaan for that.

“Often a higher draw is preferable over the mile at Newmarket, but I broke from stall one on Galileo Gold, so hopefully we can get the same kind of trip on Chaldean this year.

“The way I see it, the fancied ones are drawn 11-13, so it’s not ideal being away from them, but Chaldean is a horse who can go and run his own race.

“He’s got plenty of speed, so hopefully he can get away well and be right up there from the off, just like he was in the Dewhurst and the Champagne Stakes. I would have liked to have been drawn a bit closer to the main rivals, but it is what it is. I’ll ride my own race.”

Royal Scotsman was given plenty of experience as a juvenile, running six times and twice winning at Goodwood.

He was beaten a head by Chaldean on his final start in the Dewhurst at Newmarket, on his first try over seven furlongs.

Oliver Cole, in his fourth season sharing the licence with his Derby-winning father, Paul, could not be happier with Royal Scotsman, who makes his seasonal bow.

He said: “He’s very fit and well and we are expecting a good performance. He was never going to run in a trial as that would have meant starting earlier, and we were confident that on our gallops we could get him ready first time out.”

Sheikh Mohammed bids for a sixth success in the race, the Godolphin operation having struck last year with the Charlie Appleby-trained Coroebus.

Appleby is dual-handed with Silver Knott and Noble Style. The former is a dual Group Three winner, who was beaten a head when last seen in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Keeneland in November, while Noble Style was unbeaten in three starts, signing off with success in the Gimcrack at York.

William Buick has opted for Silver Knott, despite having chosen to partner Noble Style when the pair galloped separately at the Craven meeting.

He said: “Silver Knott was a good two-year-old who did very little wrong and was only just touched off at the Breeders’ Cup. It’s obviously a very good race, but he’s still progressive and he’s in very good form.

“Noble Style is a Gimcrack winner and unbeaten, so he’s a high-class horse too, but he’s stepping up two furlongs to a mile.”

Karl Burke is represented by the trio of Holloway Boy, Indestructible and Flight Plan.

Holloway Boy has five and a quarter lengths to make up on Auguste Rodin on their Doncaster run, while Indestructible showed his well-being with victory over course and distance in the Craven.

“All three are very nice colts,” said Burke. “Holloway Boy was always going to go straight to the Guineas without a prep run. He proved last year that he could win first time out.

“The horse is in great form and we are very happy with him. Christophe Soumillon rides and I’m sure he will run a good race. He will run in a visor.

“Indestructible came out of the Craven great. He will definitely improve for fitness and he is obviously improving on the course, as he galloped through the line very strongly.

“We are looking forward to seeing him in a stronger-run race than the Craven was. I’m sure we will get a good gallop and I’m sure that will suit him even better.

“We didn’t have him last season and felt he needed a wind op. Our vets thought we’d find 10 to 15 per cent improvement in him and they are probably right – he certainly ran a great race first time for us.”

Flight Plan, who is a son of 2014 Guineas winner Night Of Thunder, has Burke purring after he was beaten a neck by Dear My Friend over a mile in a Listed all-weather mile contest at Newcastle on his return.

“Flight Plan is a lovely horse. He lost 15 kilos when he ran at Newcastle, so he will improve plenty,” said the Leyburn handler.

“He has been working very, very well – his work has been exceptional at home – and I know Danny Tudhope is very sweet on him. At the prices, he’d be the one I’d be backing at 50-1 rather than the others.”

In a similar vein, Charlie Hills feels Galeron, who won the Goffs Million on his final start as a juvenile and was a place behind Flight Plan at Newcastle on his first run as a three-year-old, is being overlooked by bookmakers.

Hills said: “He’s a massive price and he has got plenty of experience. I was really happy with his run at Newcastle, coming through the field and finishing third.

“He is a horse who doesn’t do an awful lot at home, but I think his experience will hold him in good stead.

“A little bit of rain would help, but it should be beautiful ground by the weekend.

“He stayed on really nicely at Newcastle and we were conscious of a really bad draw, so we wanted to give that away and come in though horses. He is laid back at home so that race will have brought him on an awful lot.”

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