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| Staff Writer |
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Owen Burrows expresses his immense excitement at being represented by Alyanaabi in the Native Trail's Dewhurst Stakes. With previous experience on the course and over the same distance, Burrows hopes that Alyanaabi can utilize this advantage and secure victory in the prestigious Group One highlight taking place at Newmarket on Dubai Future Champions Day, which falls on Saturday.
There is a promising colt, the son of Too Darn Hot, who will be racing this weekend in a highly anticipated US$6,14,378 seven-furlong feature. This will be his first time competing at this level, and he is aiming for his third win in just four career starts.
After losing in the Listed Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot in July, the Shadwell champion bounced back with a victory in the Gr.3 Tattersalls Stakes on the Rowley Mile last month. Despite the odds being in favor of the Aidan O'Brien-trained City Of Troy, who has not competed since winning the Group Two bet365 Superlative Stakes on the July Course in July, the Lambourn handler expects his talented colt to put on a strong performance.
Burrows said, “When I was with Barry (Hills) for that first year Massaat was second to Air Force Blue (in the Dewhurst Stakes), but it is nice to have one ourselves and we have always thought a lot of him.
“He would have been a slightly unlucky loser last time out in the Group Three, but he just managed to put his head down in time.
“To have the third favourite in the Dewhurst is massively exciting and this is what it is all about.
“He is a horse we really like, and it will be interesting to see how he fares in it. As you well know, it is always a bonus when they have acted on the track.
“We left France a couple of weekends ago disappointed after Hukum’s defeat in the Arc and it would be an amazing end to the season if we could come away with a Dewhurst winner.”
The only flaw in Alyanaabi's record is his loss during his second race at Ascot, where he finished fourth. However, Burrows is not too worried about this setback, as the form of that race has since proven to be some of the strongest available.
He added, “In the Listed race at Ascot we felt he run tidy enough, but that wasn’t his proper running. He got a little bit shut up in behind and didn’t get out, but when he did get out he didn’t show the speed he does at home.
“Jim (Crowley, jockey) felt the slightly softer ground didn’t play to his strengths, so it was good once we got him on faster ground last time to see him show the speed we had seen at home.
“The last forecast I saw suggested the track was going to get ten millimetres of rain and we know what Newmarket is like as it will soak it up like a sponge. As long as we get good ground, it will be fine.
“That Ascot race has turned out to be pretty smart as the winner Rosallion has won the Group One in France (Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere) the runner up Al Musmak has won a Listed race and was second in the Royal Lodge, and Dancing Gemini, who finished fifth, has also won a Listed race at Doncaster.
“Even though he got beat at Ascot it was still a good race and the form is stacking up well.”
On Saturday, the small field in the race may lead to a tactical competition. However, Burrows, who previously had a runner named Albasheer finish sixth in the 2020 race, is confident that this will not be a problem for Alyanaabi.
Burrows said, “I felt he had to quicken at a few stages in the Group Three last time. He had to quicken down the hill and he had to quicken going up the hill.
“I’m not concerned if there is lack of pace in the race as this horse has won over six furlongs so if it did turn into a sprint late on I wouldn’t be concerned. He is pretty versatile.
“We always felt he was this level and the fact I pitched him in a Listed race on his second start instead of going for a novice race under a penalty suggested that.
“He has always shown a fair level and it wasn’t out of the realms of possibility he would be rocking up in a race like this.”
Despite the outcome this weekend, Burrows remains confident that Alyanaabi can aim for Classic triumph next season. The plan is to move him up to a mile for the QIPCO 2000 Guineas, which will be his primary objective in the early part of 2024.
Burrows added, “He is a Group Three winner now and hopefully that is not the end of it.
“He is a lovely big scopey horse and it looks like he will get a mile all day long.
“We are all dreaming that he will hopefully be a Guineas horse next year.”