3 minute read
Owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum will have three horses attempting to prove themselves when they line up for the Rundle's Paradise Stakes at Ascot on Wednesday.
Owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum will have three horses attempting to prove themselves when they line up for the Rundle's Paradise Stakes at Ascot on Wednesday.
Algaith, Mootaharer and Tabarrak have all had their issues, but head into the new campaign with clean slates.
Tabarrak, trained by Richard Hannon, will be the fittest of the three, having shaped well on his first run for almost a year at Newmarket two weeks ago.
The owner's racing manager Angus Gold said: " Tabarrak ran very well on his return after a good layoff at Newmarket.
"This track should suit him better. He ran very well there last year. They think he's in good form."
Algaith has not run since chasing home Convey in a Listed contest at Pontefract in July, but has been pleasing his trainer Owen Burrows in his preparation for his comeback.
The Charlie Hills-trained Mootaharer showed plenty of promise in two runs as a juvenile, but never got the chance to build on those in 2016.
"Algaith has had his share of problems, but Owen feels he's got him in really good shape. He might need a run, but he's very happy with him," said Gold.
"Mootaharer had enormous problems with a sinus last year, which kept him out all year, so I'm sure he'll need a run just to get back into the swing of it.
"It will just tell us where we are with him. They have been happy enough with him. The horse just needs racing now."
Ennaadd has to give his rivals 3lb because of his Listed victory at Kempton last November, but his trainer Roger Varian is still expecting a good show.
The four-year-old was last seen finishing fourth when a hot favourite for the All-Weather Mile Championships Final at Lingfield on Good Friday.
"The gallop was muddling in the AW Mile Final and that did not play to Ennaadd's strengths," the Newmarket-based trainer told www.varianstable.com.
"I am looking forward to getting him back on turf and a straight mile on top of the ground will really suit."
In a strong-looking Listed heat, David O'Meara sends Mondialiste and Firmament from his North Yorkshire base.
Jane Chapple-Hyam gives her Italian import Kaspersky his first race on British soil.