Though Naqeeb still has a ways to go before he can follow in the footsteps of his half-brothers Baaeed and Hukum, there's a good chance he can improve this season and make an appearance in Friday's William Hill Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket.
Although Baaeed, who was regarded as the greatest of his generation, never went farther than 10 furlongs in a race, Hukum's victory over a mile and three-quarters gave hope that Naqeeb could establish himself over two miles this season.
The William Haggas-trained four-year-old is entitled to plenty of progression as he was unraced at two and has only had six races in his life. He has been entered in the Ascot Gold Cup. The race starts over a mile and a half.
“He was always a horse that was physically going to improve as he got older,” said Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell. “We’ve gelded him since last year, they are happy with him at home and it looks like a good place to start. He will get further in due course, but we just want to get him back on track and see where we are. We’ve put him in the Gold Cup in case he does stay. At this stage, there is nothing to say he will (stay that far), but he stayed a mile and six last year, he’s a lovely, galloping horse and progressive, so we need to start him and he’ll give us a clue which way to go with him.”
Naqeeb was making his final start in a Listed race after winning a £100,000 handicap under heavy weight, but he never looked happy when he finished third.
Gold said: “His last run may have just been at the end of a long season, but he also hung badly that day at Ascot and we never found out why. He clearly didn’t run his race though, so we’ll count that one out and start again fresh.”