Ed Walker believes Almaqam will be hard to beat if replicating his run in the Juddmonte International at York in the Qatar Racing Champion Stakes at Ascot.
The Lambourn handler hopes enough rain falls between now and October 19 for the son of Lope De Vega to show his best in the Group One test at the Berkshire track.
After valiantly going down by a head on the Knavesmire to Item, the Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum-owned five-year-old turned the tables on the son of Frankel when finishing fourth in the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown earlier this month.
But Walker knows that Almaqam is capable of even better granted the right conditions after saddling him to Group One glory in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh in May.
Walker said: “The ground was quicker than I wanted it to be at Leopardstown. In hindsight I probably shouldn’t have run him and gone straight to Ascot, which was the plan after York.
“The track at Leopardstown was a bit sharper than I remembered as I hadn’t been there for a long time and he just got a bit lost between the four and the two-pole.
“All the signs at home were so positive that we got tempted into it. He seems fine and although he is in the Arc we will head to the Champion Stakes now.
“If he does what he did at York he will be hard to beat. He has only really had soft a few times in his career, which is frustrating."
Stablemate Ten Bob Tony will form part of Walker’s team for Qatar Racing British Champions Day when returning to the scene of his Queen Anne Stakes success at the Royal meeting in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes.
Although the son of Night Of Thunder is yet to win in three subsequent starts he has shown plenty of encouragement in defeat, most recently when finishing second in the Qatar Prix du Moulin at Longchamp.
Walker said: “Ten Bob Tony will head to the QEII now. He is in great form and we will see how we go back at Ascot.
“He ran a huge race in the Moulin, and it was probably a near career best. He is versatile regarding the ground, more versatile than I gave him credit for.”
More from Sporting Life
- Free bets
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.al
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
