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| Staff Writer |
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Khaadem is set to compete in the My Pension Expert July Cup after securing his second victory in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Last year, Charlie Hills’ 8YO surprised many by winning at 80-1 odds, but this time around, he triumphed at 14-1 with jockey Oisin Murphy.
Following his success at the Royal meeting, Khaadem plans to follow the same route as last year, heading from Ascot to Newmarket, provided that the conditions at the July course are suitable for the seasoned speedster.
“He’s come out of Ascot very well and it was a great day we all had,” said Hills.
“He loves that track and the race at York really brought him along – he did well to win that as an eight-year-old but he’s looking as well as he’s ever been in his career.
“He’s obviously not done a lot since that race, he’s had a few canters, but he seems in good shape and the ground looks like it is going to stay right for him.
“He will go to Newmarket as long as the ground is right for him. The three-year-olds look good this year, but we will see how we get on against them.”
In the meantime, Hills is eager to reintroduce Cicero’s Gift to the racetrack after an absence of over a year. Initially successful in his first three starts, Cicero’s Gift encountered some misfortune and finished further down the field in a challenging St James’s Palace Stakes at last year’s Royal Ascot.
Following that race, he has been sidelined, but he is now entered for Sandown’s Coral Challenge over a mile this Saturday. Additionally, the Regent Seven Seas Cruises Bentinck Conditions Stakes at Goodwood on August 2 is also being considered as an option by Hills.
“We’re keeping a close eye on the ground (at Sandown) and I wouldn’t want to run him on anything too firm at this stage of his career,” continued Hills.
“There’s a race at Goodwood at the Glorious meeting that looks interesting for him. It’s a conditions race over one-mile-one for horses that have never won a Listed or Group race, so that looks a nice race for him.
“He’s had a long time off, but he’s been training nicely. Physically he has done very well and I think he’s a pretty good horse on his day.
“It’s great to have him back and we have been very patient with him over the winter – he was turned out in the field for a good four months. He’s been a very good patient and given himself every chance to get back.
“Things didn’t go quite right for him last year at Royal Ascot, he got stuck in some traffic and I think he could easily have finished a bit closer.”