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| Staff Writer |
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KHK Racing is eager to witness Vandeek's potential in the upcoming Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes in September, given his impressive advancement in the ranks.
KHK Racing, led by Sheikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa, a member of the Bahraini royal family, made a big splash in British racing in 2020 when they spent £2.7m on Akhu Najla.
Trained by Simon and Ed Crisford, the son of Havana Grey made his debut late July successfully at Nottingham. Since then he has gone on to bring home the Richmond Stakes trophy before providing the Gainsborough Thoroughbreds training operation their first Group One success when they took the Prix Morny. It was the second Group One triumph for his Bahrain-based owners after Eldar Eldarov’s St Leger success last season. The 4YO son of Dubawi named after the MMA fighter from Bahrain
Now, HK Racing's latest high-class performer is set to compete at Newmarket, where he could potentially face off against River Tiber, the third-place finisher in Prix Morny and trained by Aidan O'Brien.
“Vandeek showed to everybody that he is very much on the upgrade. His rise has been pretty quick really and within the space of five or six weeks he has gone from winning a maiden at Nottingham to winning a Group One at Deauville,” said Chris Wall, racing manager for the owners.
“He’s improved and improved and improved with each run and he’s well entered up, but at the moment the plan is to go for the Middle Park.”
Vandeek: A Promising Colt For Darley Dewhurst Stakes At Newmarket
The 4YO is set to take part in the upcoming Darley Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket. Having shown great potential during his recent races on the Sussex Downs and Normandy coast, he is expected to perform well and may even be able to go on to compete in the seven-furlong trip.
Meanwhile, KHK Racing has Knight in training with the Crisfords. The talented colt, who won the Horris Hill last year, recently finished second to Angel Bleu in the Group Two Celebration Mile. This was his best performance since his unbeaten 2YO campaign. Although there has been no confirmation on future plans, a possible option for Knight could be a trip to ParisLongchamp on Arc weekend.
Wall said, “He’s a horse who is getting back on track. Things hadn’t gone his way in the early part of the season and he was getting very upset and stressed about all sorts of things, so we had him gelded and that seems to have done the trick.
“His comeback run in the Thoroughbred Stakes was satisfactory, it was a solid enough run for a horse that hadn’t run much this year. But he took a big step forward and ran a much better race in the Celebration Mile and it is good to see him getting back to that.
“I think a bit of cut in the ground always helps him, his best form has come with that.
“I’m not sure what Simon and Ed have planned for him yet, but I would have thought something like the Prix Daniel Wildenstein over at the Arc meeting might be a suitable spot for him. He’s going to be kept in training as a fun horse to run in all of those sort of races and I think he will fit into that category nicely.”