Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum enjoyed a year to remember on the racecourse in 2019, with the record-setting Group 1 sprinter Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) leading a charge that also included the G1 Lockinge S. winner Mustashry (GB) (Tamayuz {GB}) and the admirable staying filly Enbihaar (Ire) (Redoute's Choice {Aus}), the winner of three consecutive Group 2s. Attraction (GB)'s high-profile son Elarqam (GB) and G1 Investec Derby runner-up Madhmoon (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) also won pattern races in the blue and white.
The Shadwell owner will have to wait a bit longer this season, however, before he sees his silks grace the winner's enclosure.
“Before this started, I had various people saying they thought the horses looked as well as they had ever seen them at this time of year, considering everything,” said Sheikh Hamdan's Racing Manager Angus Gold. With regards to when racing could resume and what it will look like when it does, Gold said he wasn't ready to starting contemplating what-ifs.
“This is a setback if it goes on well into May and then into June,” Gold said. “Then we're talking about a different state of affairs altogether, and none of us knows, so there is no good speculating because we haven't got there yet.
“We've got to ride this out and just hope that things settle down enough to allow racing to start again in some guise, even if it is behind closed doors. We've got to see when we can start again, how much we will lose and what format the season will take.”
Gold praised racing's essential workers who are keeping the horses ticking over.
“Across the board, the trainers are doing a fantastic job ,and everyone is pulling together,” he said. “It's shown all of us we mustn't take things for granted. Everything we've thought of as normal has been taken away in an instant. Of course it's frustrating, but we have to put it into perspective and get our priorities right. There's nothing we can do other than stay safe, hunker down and wait for things to calm down a bit.”
Gold nominated a trio of Shadwell 3-year-olds to keep an eye on once racing resumes. He began with the 160,000gns yearling purchase Molatham (GB) (Night of Thunder {Ire}), who won the Listed Flying Scotsman S. last year for trainer Roger Varian. He also suggested a pair of colts by Sea The Stars (Ire): Al Aasy (Ire), a 300,000gns yearling who was third in his lone start on Oct. 23 at Newmarket for William Haggas, and Hukum (Ire), a homebred who won at second asking on the Kempton all-weather on Nov. 19 for Owen Burrows.
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