Connections are willing to take a gamble with Naqeeb, as they target the John Smith’s Cup following his performance at Royal Ascot.
A half-brother to none other than Baaeed and Hukum, the former Shadwell-owned and William Haggas-trained five-year-old is now with Julie Camacho and outran his 33-1 odds to claim minor honours in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes, finishing two and a half lengths behind Willie Mullins’ winner Ethical Diamond when third.
It was by far his best display out of his three starts at a mile and a half this season, but Camacho’s assistant trainer Steve Brown confirmed plans to drop down to 10 furlongs ahead of his trip to the Knavesmire.
“Naqeeb is good form, he’s taken his Royal Ascot run really well. We are really pleased with him,” Brown said.
“We are quite keen to give him a try back at 10 furlongs, which is significantly the shortest distance he’s ran in the last couple of seasons.
“He travels really well in his races and it’s something we’ve got in our minds, we thought we’d do it now and know what we are going for, for the rest of the season.”
Brown admitted the drop in trip could be “totally the wrong thing”, but he remains confident Naqeeb can build on his season-best display.
“He’ll run in the John Smith’s Cup at York,” he added. “He’s come out of Ascot in terrific form, we were thrilled with the run. Whether the last 20 yards were too far, we aren’t sure.
“But he has a bit of a reputation for travelling strongly and whether he is wasting a little bit of energy in the first half of his race, it’s something we want to explore – just to drop back in trip.
“It might be totally the wrong thing, but we don’t know until we try.”
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