Roger Varian will give consideration to an outing in the Bahrain Trophy for Sallaal should all go well on his Group race debut in the Betway Rose Of Lancaster at Haydock Park.
The gelded son of Frankel made it two wins from three starts this season when following up his impressive handicap success on Betfred Oaks day at Epsom Downs with an equally taking display in the Listed Davies Insurance Solutions Gala Stakes at Sandown Park.
And on the back of his latest victory, which was franked by the runner-up Persica winning the BetVictor Steventon Stakes at Newbury on Saturday, Varian is keen to test the waters at Group Three level with the improving gelding at the Merseyside venue on August 8th.
Varian said: “The plan with Sallaal is to run in the Rose Of Lancaster, which is a Group Three. It was a good run at Sandown Park as it was a very different style to the race at Epsom. He had to adapt, and he was dominant crossing the line.
“The second won the Steventon Stakes at Newbury. It was quite a strong Listed race as five of the six runners in the Gala Stakes were rated over one hundred and twelve. It was a pretty solid Listed race.I think we are seeing a different side to him now. We were running him over a mile last year as he was too free.
"Although he got beat the first day at Epsom we wanted to drop him in, get him relaxed, and see him finish, which he did. It set his season up by doing that.”
And looking beyond Sallaal’s next start, Varian believes that the Bahrain Trophy, which has recently been upgraded to Group One status, could work out to be a good fit for the Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum-owned gelding.
He added: “I quite like the thought of the Bahrain Trophy in November for Sallaal. He goes on any ground, and he has got a lot of class, and it is Group One this year so it is worth targeting. We have got to see if he is brave enough to be an international horse, but you have to try and that is why we are spacing his races out a bit.
“If he could win the Rose Of Lancaster we will then have a think about it as it is a race that I’ve got on the back of my mind.”
Stablemate Saddadd also looks set for another spell travelling with Varian leaning towards stepping him up to a mile and a half for a tilt at the Group One Grosser Preis von Baden.
Although the Group Two Grand Prix de Deauville is also an option, the Classic-winning handler admits he would like to keep the Pinatubo colt at Group One level in Baden-Baden.
After starting the season in perfect fashion with victory in the Group Three bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes, the Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum-owned colt then finished a respectable third on his Group One debut in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.
However, although he was unable to better that effort last time out when finishing fourth in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park, Varian is confident that wherever he lines up next will be a different story.
He said: “I was disappointed in the Eclipse. I thought he ran respectably, but I didn’t think he ran as good as he is. He has got a wonderful attitude, but he didn’t engage from the gates. If you remember the race Ray (Dawson) had to ask him in the first two furlongs to attach himself to the rest of the field.
“You can’t do that in many races, but you certainly can’t do it at that level. But, maybe that was a horse trying to tell me he wants to go a mile and a half now, which he has looked like at times previously so I’m going to do that with him.
“There is the Grand Prix de Deauville over an extended mile-and-a-half on August 30th. The other race I like for him is the Grosser Preis von Baden, which is a week later on September 6th, and that would be my preference as it is a Group One.
“Ground could come into it, along with opposition, but also where he is at the time will be key as a week can make a big difference. Whichever race he runs in will give us a direction for his autumn campaign. I’m not sure he was at his best in the Eclipse, and this horse will keep on improving."
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