Al Shaikh’s ultimate dream
For the first time in over 40 years he will not be at Epsom Downs for the race
world. Winning it will mean a lot for me and all the horse owners in the UAE.
“This is a dream. I won’t say Khalifa Sat will win, but I have a lot of faith in the horse ever since he won twice at Goodwoord Racecourse, which is a lot similar to.
Early forward position
“To be honest, I’ll be very happy even he finishing in the top five or six, because this is the Derby, it’s like no other race in the world.”
Al Shaikh said that he has been in constant touch with the horse’s trainer Balding, who helped him buy at the Irish sales last year, and young jockey Marquand.
“Our strategy will be to get a forward position early and sit behind the first four or five horses for the first half of the race,” revealed Al Shaikh. “Everyone will have their own plan but this is ours and we hope we can run with it.
“Tom is a good jockey with a good head on his shoulders and
Andrew has the horse in top condition. So we’re very hopeful and praying everything works out well in the race.”
Al Shaikh also revealed that for the first time since the 1980s he will not be at but will be watching the race live on TV with his family and friends in his Al Khawaneej residence.
“It will feel a little strange, but we don’t have any choice,” he said, with a laugh.
Meanwhile, English King trainer Ed Walker was looking forward to saddling his first runner in the Derby.
“I am massively excited by English King and I would not swap him for anything else,” said the handler. “I think he will have learnt a lot at Lingfield and hopefully he can cruise round Tattenham Corner. Whether he is good enough — we will find out, but he ticks an awful lot of boxes. I think that is why he is at the top of the market.”