Ray Dawson all smiles on Sallaal

Roger Varian to take time before choosing next race for Sallaal

Horse Racing

Tue June 09, 2026 · 1w ago

Roger Varian is in no rush to pick Sallaal's next target following his runaway Epsom win on Friday.

In landing the Betfred "Nifty 50" Handicap by six-and-a-half lengths, the four-year-old produced the sixth-best handicap performance this century on Timeform ratings.

Pattern company now awaits and the trainer told Tuesday's Nick Luck Daily Podcast: “He’ll be up into Stakes races but we haven’t really settled on the next spot yet. He came out of the race very well, I saw him canter yesterday and he’s just cantered past me this morning so he’s taken the race very well.

“I think it was a big effort and I’m not in a rush to get him back on the track but I’m sure in the next few weeks or a month we will get him back out there in what is likely to be a Listed or Group Three over ten furlongs."

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Sallaal is bred to go to the top being a Frankel half-brother to Benbatl, Modaara and Elmalka, the last two trained by Varian.

“They’ve all been a little different but he has the engine but it has taken him time to put everything together really. We had high hopes of him through the winter when he turned trom a two-year-old into a three-year-old, hoping he could develop into a Classic horse.

“He started in the Feilden at the Craven Meeting as a three-year-old but was a bit gassy and didn’t get home and we maybe confused ourselves a little. We went back to a mile and won a couple of novices and a handicap and he ran nicely behind Charlie Hills’ horse who went on to win the QEII (Cicero's Gift) at Sandown in September.

“He kind of progressed last year, not as quickly as we hoped, but we took things slowly. He wintered very well this year, was castrated, and has done everything right this spring and early summer. Hopefully he can fulfil his potential as we go forward with him.”

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