Merely a satisfactory debut for Raaheeb (Sea The Stars) at Ascot on Friday would have sufficed, but Shadwell's brother to Baaeed and Hukum was in the winning mood to earn instant TDN Rising Star status with a certain bright future ahead. Almost certainly still a work in progress if pedigree is any guide, the Owen Burrows-trained 7-4 favourite was asked to take control by Jim Crowley approaching the furlong pole and readily asserted for a 1 1/4-length verdict over Pompette (New Bay).
“We liked him at home, but he's so sleepy-he almost tripped over himself in the parade ring and cantered down like an old horse,” his rider said after his debrief with Sheikha Hissa and the rest of the team. “He's very relaxed now and I thought if he won today it would be on pure ability, as he is a next-year horse. Today wasn't the be-all-and-end-all, but he's got some of his brothers' blood. Baaeed was a freak-he could have won over six furlongs-and Hukum was tough and the feeling I get off this fellow is he will be a nice middle-distance horse for next year.”
Burrows echoed those sentiments. “It was a very pleasing debut. He'd done everything nicely at home, but he was only just ready for a run and we managed to get him on the grass on Wednesday,” he explained. “I'll be honest, I thought whatever he did today he'd take a massive step forward from as he's still quite switched off at the moment, which is obviously a nice way to have them.”
“There are mixed messages as to what trip he wants, given his brothers were very different,” he added. “Jim thinks he'll be a mile-and-a-quarter horse next year, maybe further but Richard Hills tells me Baaeed started off over a mile. We'll see if he switches on at home, if he does then we might step up but Jim emphasised whatever he did this year is a bonus, we won't go overboard this year.”
“He reminds me a lot of Hukum in his action, yet Michael Hills was there with Richard today and said he looks a bit like Baaeed, but he's a bigger horse than Baaeed now, he's bigger than Hukum at this stage as well.”
Pedigree Notes
Raaheeb is the ninth foal out of Shadwell's incredible Aghareed (Kingmambo), whose sons of the sire Baaeed and Hukum hit the heights in contrasting fashion. The former started racing at three and his brilliant career featured six Group 1 wins from a mile to a mile and a quarter, but he would have stayed no further, while this stable's Hukum did race at two but went on to be a strong-staying mile-and-a-half performer as he proved in his soft-ground King George. Interestingly, her son of Nathaniel, Naqeeb, was a Group-placed stayer, so connections will have to find out the winner's trip as they go.
The Listed-winning Aghareed is a daughter of the Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Turf and Flower Bowl Invitational-winning champion Lahudood (Singspiel), who also produced the dual New Zealand Group winner Mahrajaan (Kitten's Joy) and is the second dam of the stable's deeply promising three-year-old filly Falakeyah (New Bay) who was so impressive in the Listed Pretty Polly Stakes. The winner's fifth dam is the operation's linchpin mare Height Of Fashion, linking him to Nashwan, Unfuwain and Nayef with the latter also having impressed on testing ground here in his two-year-old year in the Autumn Stakes.
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