David Nagle wants soft Ascot ground for Maarek
Trainer David Peter Nagle wants soft surface at Royal Ascot to run his 5-year-old gelding, Maarek, in the Wokingham Stakes next month. Maarek has set sights on the Ascot adventure after winning the Qatar Racing Handicap at Newmarket earlier this month.
The son of Pivotal has been performing brilliantly since his seasonal debut in March this year. After staying out of action for half a year, the dashing runner made his comeback at Curragh, where he did a fantastic job in the Irish Field Handicap in late
March.
The 6f event saw the 9-2 favourite missing the crown only by a neck’s distance. After an unlucky trip, the Lisbunny Syndicate-owned did not lose his determination and came up with a wonderful effort at Naas last month.
In the Go Racing In Kildare Handicap, David Nagle’s trainee performed magnificently despite not getting an impressive start. Not letting his supporters down, he sealed the top position by half a length.
After a superb triumph at Naas, he continued his good form, when ran at Newmarket earlier this month. The gelding is in great shape at the moment and there is no reason why he should not have a big run at Royal Ascot.
However, Nagle is not ready to take any sort of risk, saying that Maarek will run at Ascot only if he gets soft ground. Despite terming the Wokingham Stakes as main target, the trainer insisted that Maarek’s participation in the class 2 event is subject
to the favourable conditions.
"He's gone up again after Newmarket and is now on 108. The Wokingham is the obvious target for him, but we are very ground dependent. He has to have ease in the ground,” said Nagle.
He added: "We are running out of options for him. The Wokingham is the only handicap we can run him in now unless we ask him to carry 10st 1lb or 10st 2lb. We'll have to step him up in class after that."
The Wokingham Stakes is scheduled to take place on Saturday, June 23rd. The entries for the class 2 meeting are yet to be announced.
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