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| Staff Writer |
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William Haggas seems to have found an ideal opportunity for Aldaary to kickstart his campaign in the Dubai Duty-Free Cup at Newbury. Aldaary, a talented 5YO, previously won two valuable handicaps at Ascot a couple of years ago. Last season, he made a successful transition to Listed class by winning the Spring Trophy at Haydock. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, that turned out to be his only competitive outing in 2022.
Since his return from a lengthy 400-day break, Aldaary has been unable to add to his winning record. Nevertheless, his recent performances have been commendable. In July, he encountered the subsequent Grade One victor, Master Of The Seas, in the Summer Mile at Ascot and finished second. Aldaary's most recent outing saw him secure a fourth-place finish behind Paddington in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.
For the upcoming Listed event, Aldaary will be dropping down in both trip and distance to seven furlongs. Despite this change, he remains a strong contender and sets a high standard for the race. However, his own stablemate, Al Mubhir, could potentially pose a significant threat. Al Mubhir has demonstrated a penchant for soft ground and caught the eye with an impressive eighth-place finish in the Golden Mile at Goodwood last month.
Overall, with the stage set for Aldaary's return to the winner's circle, all eyes will be on the talented entire and his potential to shine in the Dubai Duty Free Cup at Newbury.
Haggas said, “They both love heavy ground and it has been a while since we’ve had heavy ground and there has been a race in which they can run.
“I didn’t have either of them in at Sandown this week because I didn’t think the ground would get that bad, but I had them both in at Newbury so they’ll both have to run, which is a shame.
“Aldaary is the best horse of the two but he really loves bottomless ground, it can’t be heavy enough, so I was a little bit disappointed with him against Paddington.
“Both of them want a mile really, but hopefully they’ll run a good race. I don’t really want to run them against each other, but they have biggish targets at the end of the year so they need a run to get back into the groove.”