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| Staff Writer |
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Al Nayyir preparing for second tilt at US$2.5m contest
NEWMARKET handler Tom Clover is plotting a lucrative Middle East campaign for his globetrotting stayer Al Nayyir, with the US$2.5m Red Sea Turf Handicap firmly in his sights.
The 6YO son of Dubawi is being readied for a return to Riyadh, where he finished fourth in last year's running before going on to claim second in the Gr.2 Dubai Gold Cup.
Having joined Clover from French trainer Romain Le Dren Doleuze, Al Nayyir made an immediate impact on British soil when chasing home Vauban in York's Group Two Lonsdale Cup. That performance was followed by victory in Newmarket's Rose Bowl before a fifth-place finish in the Group Two Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot.
Fresh And Ready "He's training really well, he looks great and we're very much planning to go to the Red Sea Turf," said Clover. "It's exciting, he had this sort of a programme last year so hopefully we'll go there and then he'll go to Dubai again.
"We gave him a break and now he's fresh and very well within himself, with a bit of luck he can be in the mix out there as there are some really valuable pots.
"It was just too soft for him at Ascot, he doesn't mind genuine soft ground but when it's bottomless, it is very hard work.
"He'll get better ground out in Saudi, so we hope he's lucky and he can go well out there again."
The gelding had previously been trained by Georges Doleuze and Julien Carayon before his move to Britain, where he has continued to progress for his current connections.