It was a winning return to action for Maho Bay on Monday as he made all in good style to land the Group 3 Winter Hill Stakes.
The Dubawi colt looked well above average when making a winning six-length debut at Kempton in December. Maho Bay made it two from two, winning his seasonal debut in good style at Newmarket. He was a beaten favourite behind Maltese Cross however, before an unlucky loser at Royal Ascot.
He was given a confident ride under William Buick returning a break, making all to fend off Venetian Prince. Harmonics continued his improvement to finish third, with On Message backing up her listed win for fourth.
Speaking to Sky Sports Racing after the race, via Racing TV, William Buick said: “He’s going to be a lovely horse for next year. I thought he did well there and I liked what he did. That’s probably what we should have done at Ascot, but I wasn’t able to. He corrected that today and showed plenty of promise.
“Charlie was happy to lead today. If something was going quicker than us then that would have been good as well. He got a lovely breather round the bend and built into the race. It was a nice performance and after that today I’d say he’s opened plenty of options for himself.”
Raaheeb a well beaten favourite
The main disappointment of the contest was Raaheeb, who was largely expected to get his career back on track. He made a winning debut when well backed at Ascot last season. A brother to Baaeed and Hukum, he looked full of potential himself when landing the Classic trial on seasonal debut.
After incurring a small setback there, Raaheeb failed to fire in the Irish Derby. He was beaten eight lengths behind Benvenuto Cellini, and only halved that deficit behind Maho Bay. He broke well enough under Rossa Ryan, but didn’t appear to travel well for a few strides after.
He nosed his way into fifth, with only Crest Of Fire and Morris Dancer in behind. He raced alongside Venetian Prince into the straight, seemingly travelling better. However, he was soon under the pump, and failed to pick up strongly down the outside.
Many have suggested that is his bubble burst, but it wasn’t a complete blowout. That came after a 71 day layoff, and he’d got himself worked up in the prelims. His pedigree would suggest he’s entitled to improve further next season, but he has to in order to match the level of his two aforementioned brothers.