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| Staff Writer |
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Al Qareem, trained by Karl Burke, is considering the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup Stakes as his next challenge following a strong runner-up performance at York.
Known for his consistency over distances exceeding a mile and a half, the 5YO displayed another impressive effort in the Knavesmire’s Silver Cup.
Rather than a swift return to racing in Ireland this weekend, his team is focusing on a late-month appearance, weighing options both domestically and in France. One potential path for Al Qareem is stepping up to two miles for the first time in over a year at Goodwood's prestigious event on July 30.
Despite the formidable presence of Gold Cup victor Kyprios, connections are enticed by the substantial prize money available for those finishing prominently.
“Goodwood is under consideration, but there is lots of options and he is going to run somewhere around the first week of August, there’s three or four he could go for,” said Nick Bradley.
“Where we go will ultimately come down to conditions and ground, but there’s a couple of races in France and a couple in England. We had him in at the Curragh at the weekend, but he won’t go there.
“I would say it was close to his best at York and I find it’s one of the hardest places in the world to win at. It was nice to see him run well and I think the dig in the ground made a difference, Sam (James, jockey) certainly thought that.
“We came up short at York and I think we probably would come up short at the very highest level, but the Goodwood Cup has just over £100,000 for second, so we have to look at these races and see where we can pick up as much prize-money as possible.”