El Kabeir pointing toward Grade 1 Champagne

Second-time starter El Kabeir turned heads on Saturday at

Saratoga with an explosive win in a seven-furlong maiden race for trainer John

Terranova and owner Zayat Stables.

The two-year-old son of Scat Daddy debuted in a five-furlong

race on August 14 at the Spa, and finished third with late interest behind Blofeld and Signature Cat.

"I was debating whether to run him five (furlongs) or six

and a half (in his first start)," Terranova said. "I said, 'Well, 6 1/2 (furlongs)

first out, I don't know. He's fast, so let me just run him five, and we'll get a

good run into him. If there's a fast horse in there, he'll get a little dirt

kicked back at him.' He ran very well; he ran a great internal race after

getting creamed at the start. He never quit, came on, took all the dirt and came

out of it great."

El Kabeir and jockey Irad Ortiz, Jr. left nothing to chance on Saturday.

Horse and rider went straight to the front, setting fractions of :22 3/5 for the

opening quarter-mile and :44 4/5 for the half before

powering away in the stretch to win by 10 3/4 lengths. El Kabeir's time for the

distance, 1:22.16, was just .21 seconds shy of Palace's time in the Grade 1,

seven-furlong Forego, and more than a full second faster than a seven-furlong

maiden event run earlier on the card. For the performance, he earned a 100 BRIS

Speed rating.

"The last few days before we entered I was thinking, maybe we should run this

horse before we get out of here and not even wait until Belmont; he was doing

that good," Terranova said. "It wasn't really my decision

to enter him, it was his. He was the one telling me. I was just playing off that

first race, and everything was really positive."

El Kabeir, who Terranova believes will only get better with more distance,

will be pointed to the Grade 1 Champagne on October 4 at Belmont Park, where he

is likely to meet Upstart, who earned a meet-best 106 BRIS Speed rating for

his win in the Funny Cide Stakes on August 24 at the Spa.

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