Ben Linfoot and Graham Cunningham have urged the Shaquille team to give serious consideration to running their sprinting star in the Coolmore “Wootton Bassett” Nunthorpe Stakes at York.
The three-year-old extended his winning sequence to six by landing Saturday’s Pertemps Network July Cup at Newmarket.
The Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville has been mentioned as the likely next target but speaking on this week’s Sporting Life Racing Podcast, Linfoot suggested connections should set their sights closer to home.
“’I’d be tempted to have a look at the Nunthorpe. I know he’s not in there and they’ll have to supplement but he won £350,000 on Saturday and it costs £40,000 to supplement for York.
“It’s down the road for him, they’ll never have a better chance of winning a Nunthorpe and it could just be what he needs. He has so much speed this horse.”
Cunningham admitted he wondered whether Shaquille would pay the price for a big mid-race move at Newmarket but also thinks York is a viable option for his next start.
“When I watched that on Saturday I thought it’s going to be hellishly difficult for him to maintain that power but he did, he came through the Dip and was holding a clear advantage all the way up the hill,” he said.
“I don’t want to knock him in any way, but I don’t think the sprinting pond is that deep this year and he’s clearly a major player at six furlongs but I agree with Ben, I think the Nunthorpe has to be worth a consideration.
“The north has got a fantastic record in the race going back to Borderlescott, Alpha Delphini, Meccas Angel, Winter Power and Highfield Princess and a duel with her, the Queen of Yorkshire, and Bradsell at York has to be a consideration.
“Every time I watch him I worry about him actually banging his head on top of the stalls because when you see him go up he’s not far from the roof of them, and at some point he might get really, really awkward but in terms of the story, and I urge you to have a look at the feature the Jockey Club have put out from Saturday, it’s what Flat racing needs.
“It needs the Borderlescotts, Alpha Delphinis and Highfield Princesses to go toe to toe with Coolmore and Godolphin and the major stables. It’s win, win all over the place. And I just wonder who’s going to ride him next time.
"We’ve had James Doyle, Oisin Murphy and Rossa Ryan of late and they’ve all excelled on him so the Camacho team have a wealth of choices there, but the main thing is they have a helluva horse and probably one of the most valuable stallion prospects to come out of the north of England in many, many years.”
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