The post-race professors may have enjoyed a field day of it after Mike de Kock rounded off a Charity Mile day six-timer at Turffontein on Saturday with the stayer Atyaab.
The big son of Dundeel, a winner of an apparently below-par Gr1 Cape Derby earlier this year, has not set the world alight since that peak moment at a sunny Kenilworth in January.
Callan Murray is all confidence as Atyaab storms home (Pic – JC Photos)
But an analysis of his recent form, including an epistaxis soundness issues at his last start 22 weeks ago when making up numbers and outclassed in the Daily News, suggested that he was not the worst value at 10-1 under 60kgs in a beatable looking line-up.
Add in a bang in-form trainer-jockey combination, then how did we miss this one?
In the final analysis, a horse always suggested by his top trainer to be looking for a minimum of 2400m, won the Listed Java Handicap going away by 1,25 lengths in a time of 154,14 secs.
An A$260,000 Inglis Easter purchase for Shadwell from the Arrowfield Stud draft, Atyaab is from the first crop of High Chaparral’s champion son Dundeel and is a half-brother to stakes-winner Vesper and the fifth winner from Gr2 winner Sylvaner.
Atyaab races in the famous blue and white silks of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid al Maktoum.
He has won 4 races with 4 places from 12 starts for stakes of R996 437. In the less that star-studded staying ranks he could go on from here.
