York, England // This is not quite Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid’s best season as an owner in Britain, but if Taghrooda and Mukhadram can continue to carry his blue and white standard with success at this week’s Ebor meeting, a landmark will have been reached.
William Haggas, the trainer, is convinced that Mukhadram poses a significant threat to Australia, the overwhelming favourite for the International Stakes that carries prize money of £453,680 (Dh2.7 million) to the winner on Wednesday.
Basateen also holds a leading chance in the Group 3 Acomb Stakes, while on Thursday Taghrooda looks to have the Yorkshire Oaks at her mercy. Ertijaal, also trained by Haggas, holds strong claims in the City Of York Stakes on Friday.
Thanks largely to the exploits of Taghrooda and Mukhadram, the Minister of Finance has amassed more than £2.5m in prize money in Britain this season, a cool £900,000 ahead of Godolphin in the owners’ standings. Next is Prince Khalid Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, the owner of Kingman.
There are no royal blue Godolphin silks in the International Stakes, and the pink, white and green of Prince Abdullah’s Juddmonte operation, who sponsor the race, are nowhere to be seen for the second successive year since Frankel successfully stepped up to 2,000 metres for the first time.
Those two global racing entities are not represented in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, either. That 2,400m contest is worth £187,143 to the winner, which means, should Sheikh Hamdan prevail in both, he will be in a commanding position in the lead-up to British Champions Day in October to register his sixth title.
Sheikh Hamdan is clearly enjoying being back at the apex of the sport.
“Working for him for the last 33 years, I have seen him spending hours and hours on mating plans, seeing what works and deciding what to buy, and ultimately it has worked,” said Mirza Al Sayegh, director of Sheikh Hamdan’s office.
“He is of course very happy about it, and it makes him more eager to decide what is next, although in turn with that comes a little anxiety.
“What is next for Taghrooda, for example? Does he send her to the Prix de l’Arc De Triomphe, or does he do something different and go to the Breeders’ Cup? If I was him, I would lose my mind with everything else he has to do. There are so many choices to make.”
Sheikh Hamdan’s best season as an owner was in 1994, when Erhaab won the English Derby, Muhtrraam took the Premio Presidente Della Repubblica in Italy and the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot. Aqaarid won the Fillies’ Mile, Maroof the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and Fard the Middle Park Stakes.
To cap it all off, Jeune won the Melbourne Cup, Australia's richest race.
In terms of prize money won in Britain, 2009 was the high point as he amassed £3.1m on the back of Ghanaati’s victories in the English 1,000 Guineas and the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Further wins at the highest level included Arcano in the Prix Morny, Aqlaam in the Prix du Moulin and Awzaan in the Middle Park, which was his last Group 1 win in Britain before Taghrooda won the English Oaks in June. He is only £580,000 and some loose change off eclipsing his record figure.
On paper, Mukhadram appears to face a tall order against Australia, who has won the English Derby and the Irish Derby under Joseph O’Brien.
The colt and O’Brien have forged a strong bond in their six starts together, and the jockey believes so strongly that Australia can win on Wednesday that he has wasted down to 8st 12lbs (56 kilograms) to take the ride – the lowest weight he has ridden at for more than two years.
Telescope is a dangerous rival and will be ridden by Ryan Moore, who guided Telescope to beat Mukhadram by a short head when the two horses were left in the wake of Taghrooda in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot last month.
Despite this, Haggas said Mukhadram has been overlooked.
“Mukhadram ran a great race at Ascot. He is a tough, genuine horse and I think he is a little underrated,” he said.
“I feel it’s my job to get him there in the best condition I can, and he goes there in great shape.”
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