EKHTIYAAR FITS THE BILL

VARIAN COLT CAN COMPLETE A SEASONAL HAT-TRICK IN ASCOT’S ORIGINAL HARROGATE WATER HANDICAP

Ekhtiyaar has been a quietly progressive sprinter this year and is expected to do the business at Ascot tomorrow.

Roger Varian’s colt has won two nice races this season and already looks capable of running at a higher grade.

For now, though, connections have decided to stick to handicaps, with the decision likely to be vindicated in Berkshire in the Original Harrogate Water Handicap.

Ekhtiyaar will need a touch of fortune on his side as 13 other horses have been declared for this sixfurlong dash.

But he showed on his last outing at Newmarket in July, when he gamely defeated Tommy Taylor by a head, that he thrives under the restraints of bigfield handicaps.

The son of Bated Breath has gone up 6lb for this assignment, yet that should not necessarily be too much of a hindrance as he is seemingly still on the march. Ekhtiyaar has won when there is cut in the ground, too, so that could be of importance.

Owner Hamdan Al Maktoum can also welcome another winner later on the card when Mukalal goes for a seven-furlong handicap.

The three-year-old gelding, trained by Marcus Tregoning, has made hay on the all-weather this year but he is certainly no slouch on the turf, either.

That claim was evidenced by a really encouraging effort at Goodwood in August, when he tried to make all the running in a better race than this.

Mukalal ended up finishing fourth behind the like of Johnny Barnes and Burnt Sugar, so that form has clearly worked out a treat.

Tregoning will also be reassured by the fact this unexposed son of Mawatheeq is allowed to race off the same mark of 93.

The day’s big race, the Listed Noel Murless Stakes, represents a good chance for Raheen House.

Keep an eye out for Emilia James, who runs in a six-furlong nursery at Chelmsford.