Adrian Murray believes that stepping back up to six furlongs could be crucial for his star three-year-old, Bucanero Fuerte, in next month’s Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot.
The Wootton Bassett colt started the season with his third Group-class victory in the Lacken Stakes at Naas, where he led from the start to narrowly hold off Jessica Harrington’s Givemethebeatboys by a head.
After a summer layoff, he finished sixth in the Sprint Cup at Haydock, trailing surprise winner Montassib by four and a half lengths, and then placed seventh in the Flying Five at the Curragh, four lengths behind Bradsell.
Bucanero Fuerte will take a short break to prepare for the October 19 Group One contest over six furlongs, a distance at which he has previously excelled, including a decisive victory over Porta Fortuna in the Phoenix Stakes last August.
Murray acknowledged that the drop to a shorter distance didn’t suit his charge, who is currently priced at 33-1 with William Hill for the Ascot race.
“Six furlongs should suit him better. The Flying Five was a bit too sharp for him,” the County Westmeath-based trainer said. “He was out of his comfort zone and never really settled. Now he’s stepping back up to six furlongs, which should be more to his liking. Champions Day is likely to be his main target.”
Murray also has a promising two-year-old in Hill Road, who impressed on debut at Leopardstown in August with a five-length victory.
However, his next outing didn’t go as planned when he finished seventh in the National Stakes at the Curragh, nine lengths behind Scorthy Champ. Murray noted that his juvenile needs to "strengthen" before his next race.
“He’s doing well,” he said. “He ran with credit but didn’t progress as expected. We’re going to give him a break to help him strengthen up a bit more. We want to allow him time to develop, so we don’t have any plans set for him just yet. We’ll see how he progresses in the coming weeks.”
Murray also confirmed that his talented youngster, Arizona Blaze, will head straight to the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on November 1.