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| Staff Writer |
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Mister Sketch, trained by Eve Johnson Houghton, is among the 14 contenders for the prestigious Group Two Mill Reef Stakes. Although he narrowly missed out on victory in his debut race at Berkshire track in July, he quickly redeemed himself with a remarkable performance at Salisbury last month.
The powerful colt, sired by Territories, effortlessly galloped to a resounding nine-and-a-half-length triumph, catching the attention of his new owners. They were thrilled by his potential and are eagerly anticipating his debut in their colors on Saturday afternoon.
Excitement fills the air as Mister Sketch prepares to dive into deeper waters and showcase his talent in this highly anticipated race.
“The team is very excited to have one with Eve,” said Richard Brown, racing adviser to the owners.
“He’s a lovely, big horse and I was really taken with him when I went to see him and we’re looking forward to seeing him run in the Mill Reef.
“He’s a big lad and whatever he does this year, I’ll be really surprised if he doesn’t do better next year.”
The ownership enterprise based in Qatar has yet another promising 2YO in their possession, namely Native American trained by Richard Fahey. This young horse has already showcased his talent by winning two races in impressive fashion. Just recently, he triumphed in a highly lucrative sales race at the Curragh.
“Richard was keen to take him over there for the experience – travelling overnight and all those things that go with it,” continued Brown, reflecting on Native American’s successful raid to Ireland.
“We were delighted he won and hopefully we can build from here, but Colin said he did not enjoy the ground and I think we’ll be avoiding soft and/or tacky ground, from now on.
“I suppose we just we have to be on weather watch now for the autumn targets and we would be keen to avoid soft ground.
“He’s a big horse and he’s got all the scope to be a better horse next year. We’re obviously keen to run him again, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he didn’t run until next year.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to find somewhere with decent ground before the end of the season to drop him in at stakes level.”