Newbury winner Qeyaadah.
One two-year-old runner, one two-year-old winner. That was the state of affairs at 1:55 this afternoon as Qeyaadah, an Acclamation first foal out a half-sister to the Group 3-winning sprinter Hitchens, made a successful debut in a warm Newbury maiden to kick off our juvenile summer in style.
Owned by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and ridden by Adam Kirby, Qeyaadah broke smartly from the gates and travelled sweetly through half-way having been briefly squeezed in the early stages.
Brought towards the stands’ rail by his pilot, our horse was still going best of all approaching the final furlong, and he quickened up smartly when popped the question by Kirby, taking a gap between horses in the style of a thorough professional and only needing to be pushed out under hands a heels to win by a ready neck.
Nelspruit, a well-bred son of Makfi trained by Richard Hannon, finished second and the pair were nicely clear of the third in a contest that should produce plenty of future winners.
This was a striking debut from a horse who goes nicely at home but who was expected to need his initial experience. We will need to let the dust settle before making any concrete plans for the future, but Royal Ascot must now enter the equation with the Coventry Stakes the obvious contest for him should we go down that route.
It is incredibly exciting to be considering that sort of contest so early in the summer and we are delighted for Sheikh Hamdan – hopefully this colt will continue to go the right way.