The Marcus Tregoning trained Alkumait turned a few heads with his winning performance in the Group Two Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury on Saturday and he could now be supplemented in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket.
The two year old son of Showcasing has been a shining light for the yard this term, having ran a nice race on debut to finish fourth at Newbury he has since gone unbeaten in two smart contests.
He broke his duck at Glorious Goodwood when taking a hot maiden event that has since had the form franked with second and fifth in the race going on to win.
He stepped up into Group Two company on Saturday and with many of the horses being proven in better company than Alkumait he was under appreciated in the market and went on to land the spoils at 8/1.
He showed he could handle it against some of the best juveniles over six furlongs and stepping up to Group One company in the Dewhurst would be the next logical step.
Angus Gold, racing manager to owner Hamdan Al Maktoum, said: “We were absolutely thrilled with him. He showed a really nice turn of foot and won very nicely.
ALKUMAIT was the winner of the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes on the weekend and the Marcus Tregoning colt looks set to be supplemented for the Dewhurst! 🐎
— The Winners Enclosure (@TWEnclosure) September 22, 2020
Good move?! 🤔
(Credit: @RacingTV) pic.twitter.com/UPfj52eAZO
“The Mill Reef/Middle Park double has never really worked out for us, so we were never going to go down that route.
“His action would suggest he prefers top of the ground. That’s not to say he wouldn’t handle cut in the ground, but I certainly don’t think he would want it heavy.”
Tregoning said in the immediate aftermath of Alkumait’s weekend win that he would be keen to run him again this season, with a step up in trip definitely on the agenda.
He added: “Marcus would like to run Alkumait again this year – and as he said on Saturday, the only race for him really is the Dewhurst, which we didn’t enter him for because he’d only won a maiden at that stage.
“We’ll see how the land lies. We also have Albasheer as a possible for the Dewhurst – I think he was undone by his inexperience as much as anything at Doncaster.
“There would be a question mark over the trip for Alkumait – but if he settled well, like he did on Saturday, he’d give himself a chance. Seven furlongs at Newmarket is a different test to six at Newbury, so we’ll see.
“It wouldn’t be the end of the world if he didn’t run again this year, (but) the Dewhurst is the best two-year-old race in England, so if you can give yourself a better chance of winning it, maybe you should. ”