Sajjhaa to return in Nassau

Godolphin's Sajjhaa, a revelation during the Dubai Carnival, is set to make

her European reappearance in the Group 1 Nassau on the final day of Glorious

Goodwood, August 3.

The Saeed bin Suroor mare went four-for-four at Meydan, her streak capped by

two top-level victories over males in the Dubai Duty Free and Jebel Hatta.

Sajjhaa next shipped to Hong Kong, where she finished fourth after a very slow

start in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

"I think when Sajjhaa won two Group 1s at Meydan we were surprised," Racing

Manager Simon Crisford said, "because she had achieved an enormous amount in

Group 3s and listed level. To reach Group 1 level needed a step up in form. She

raced in a hood in Dubai and I think that has turned her around. She is now very

effective in her races.

"A mile and a quarter is stretching her, but she will be going for the Nassau

Stakes. Her best trip is at a mile or nine furlongs.

"Sajjhaa was running against a small pool of horses in Dubai and, now she is

back in Europe, there is a much bigger tank of fish to be running against. But

she is quality and she is peaking at the right moment."

Crisford commented on Godolphin's candidates for the Group 2 Goodwood Cup

August 1 as well as the two-year-old team.

"We have four possibles for the Goodwood Cup but it is stretching it a little

bit to think all of them will run," he said. "Colour Vision will definitely go

for the race. A visor for the first time at Royal Ascot seemed to definitely do

the trick and he ran really, really well (in fourth).

"He is probably not quite as good as when he won at Royal Ascot last year

when he had a hard race which might have left a mark on him mentally.

"He ran well against some top stayers afterwards under a Group 1 penalty

during the rest of the 2012 campaign but when he was working this spring for his

comeback in the Henry II Stakes he was looking lethargic and ran badly.

"So we put a pair of visors on and they woke him up. I think Goodwood will

suit him and we look forward to him running to his Royal Ascot form.

"Ahzeemah ran a really good race in the Princess of Wales's Stakes (second)

at Newmarket last week and could go for the Goodwood Cup. He has the Melbourne

Cup as a long-term target but to get into that race nowadays you need to be 115+

and he is just falling short of that level at the moment.

"Lost in the Moment never normally wins. He did so the other day (in the Fred

Archer at Newmarket) because he got into trouble and managed to get himself out.

But he does like Goodwood which can suit quirky horses. He is in the mix.

"Cavalryman is running as well as he can but you would have to be a bit

surprised if he could figure in the Goodwood Cup finish."

Speaking of the juveniles, Crisford concluded, "Outstrip is a good horse and

we will aim him at the Vintage Stakes (Group 2 on July 31).

"Figure of Speech ran a smashing race in the July Stakes (near-miss

runner-up) last week and I think he was the best horse in the race. If he had

kept a straight line, he would have won and we will go for the Richmond Stakes

(Group 2 on August 1).

"I would say that he is our strongest chance of the week apart from Dawn

Approach (who lines up in the July 31 Sussex)."

Qatar Bloodstock could also send a strong team to Glorious Goodwood.

"I think Charlie (Hills) is keen to go to the Nassau with Just the Judge,"

the owner's spokesman, John Maxse, commented. "He wants to step her up to a mile

and a quarter, which should suit her as she settles and she is out of a Rainbow

Quest mare.

"By the sounds of it, we are going to have a rematch with Sky Lantern at

Goodwood. But Sheikh Fahad and Qatar Racing love a challenge so the fact we have

been beaten by Sky Lantern twice won't deter them.

"Trade Storm will run in the Sussex Stakes. He traveled very well in the

Summer Mile at the weekend (when fourth) and they hope he will have come on for

that. He is a horse who is best held up so if they went a good gallop it would

suit him.

"Green Door could also go to Goodwood and Olly Stevens is likely to run

Gamesome, a nice Rock Of Gibraltar colt, in a maiden."

Goodwood's racing ambassador is jockey Hayley Turner, and she is looking

forward to partnering the Marcus Tregoning-trained Boom and Bust in the Group 2

Lennox Stakes on July 30.

"The horse deserves to take his chance in a race like that, even though he is

stepping back in trip," Turner said. "He loves Goodwood and the horse should be

peaking for the Lennox. I rode him at home the other day and he is going well."

Seamus Buckley, Goodwood's clerk of the course, commented on the prevailing

conditions.

"We've been dry for three weeks now and I'm probably the only person in

Sussex who would welcome some rain," Buckley said. "Our watering campaign began

last Monday and is going well. I am where I would want to be with the course at

this stage.

"We have no rain forecast until the Thursday before Glorious Goodwood and I

would anticipate the meeting will begin with ground on the easy side of good to

firm. We are watering through the night, which helps retain moisture, rather

than in daytime when the water just evaporates."

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