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1 Sakheer 4/5F
2 Rousing Encore 20/1
3 Charyn 12/1
7 ran Distances: 3½l, ¾l, nk
Time: 1m 13.53s (slow by 3.03s)
Impressive! 👏
— Newbury Racecourse (@NewburyRacing) September 17, 2022
Sakheer is a decisive winner of the Group 2 @DDFRacing Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes, cruising clear to complete a four-timer on the card for jockey @DavidEgan99 on what is turning into a remarkable afternoon for trainer @varianstable 🏆 pic.twitter.com/t9huXswU6R
Defeated only by inexperience on debut at Haydock, Roger Varian’s Sakheer built on that first appearance on Merseyside last month before taking the step up to Group Two level with aplomb on just his third start at the Berkshire venue.
Always well positioned tracking the early leader Shouldvebeenaring, the result was elementary once David Egan showed the son of Zoffany some daylight and pushed the button for home.
The 4-5 favourite scorched clear to return an emphatic three-and-a-half-length verdict at the line, with the victory bringing up a four-timer on the day for Egan. For Varian it was his sixth winner of a stand-out afternoon up and down the UK.
Only six days after the trainer/jockey combination landed the St Leger for Sakheer’s owners KHK Racing Ltd, they could have another Classic contender on their hands, with QuinnBet going 10-1 from 33-1 for next year’s 2000 Guineas.
Varian said: “His work has always been very good, we thought he would win first time but he ran into a smart filly (Magical Sunset) at Windsor.
“He then won well at Haydock and he looks good. How good, I don’t know, but he is possibly the best of my two-year-olds.
“He has size and scope, he’s very exciting and I think he’ll stay seven furlongs or a mile.”
He added: “You can never really expect things to go as well for us as it has today, but everything is clicking.”
“He in the Middle Park, but it’s next week, very soon. We’ll have to see. He would need supplementing for the Dewhurst, but I think those two races are probably the ones on the table.”
Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes (Group 2)
£80,000 guaranteed, 2yo only, 6f 8y, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Good
1 (2) Sakheer 2 9-3 Roger Varian David Egan 4/5F
2 (1) 3½ Rousing Encore 2 9-3 Richard Fahey Paul Hanagan 20/1
3 (7) ¾ Charyn 2 9-3 Roger Varian Tom Marquand 12/1
4 (3) nk Shouldvebeenaring 2 9-3 Richard Hannon Pat Dobbs 4/1
5 (5) nk Wallop 2 9-3 Richard Hannon Richard Kingscote 6/1
6 (4) 3½ Mustajaab 2 9-3 William Muir & Chris Grassick Lewis Edmunds 50/1
7 (6) 1¾ Heroism 2 9-3 Clive Cox Adam Kirby 18/1
