Saeed bin Suroor is keen to give Elwateen one more run before she steps up in class for the bet365 Fillies’ Mile on October 11.
The Dubawi filly impressed with a strong winning debut at Kempton in August, and the Godolphin trainer had considered the May Hill at Doncaster as a potential stepping stone towards Newmarket. However, she did not enter that race, as Bin Suroor prefers to get more work into her at home before her next outing.
“She worked nicely on Tuesday and has been doing well since her first run,” said Bin Suroor. “I’d like to see one more piece of work from her, and then we can start planning her next race before the Fillies’ Mile. I’m pleased with her progress, but I want to see how she works in about five days before making any decisions.”
Although Bin Suroor now trains a smaller number of horses than he did in his heyday, he boasts a 26 percent strike rate this year and celebrated a double at Yarmouth on Tuesday with two promising prospects.
Summer Of Love secured her third win of the season, while Midnight Thunder improved his record to two wins from three outings despite carrying a penalty.
“Midnight Thunder is doing well; he’s an improving colt. He missed the break the first time and got too far back, but he won well at Windsor on soft ground and again at Yarmouth on quicker ground,” Bin Suroor said. “I believe he’s better on softer ground, but he showed he could handle the quicker surface. He’s improving all the time.”
“He might head to York for a Listed race (Rockingham) before we consider taking him out to Dubai. He has good speed, and I hope he can stay a mile. Summer Of Love didn’t stay at Ascot (Kensington Palace), but her other runs have been solid. She’s been winning over seven furlongs, but Oisin (Murphy) said she wouldn’t have any trouble with six, and he was right. She’ll also go to Dubai; we hope to take about 30 horses out there, but our numbers have decreased—I currently have about 40 in training. We’re not a big stable anymore.”