Naaqoos with a Taste of Revenge

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By ARSENE ABITBOL - 8 May 2009 - 19.57 pm
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To start with, let's not forget that Naaqoos was rated amongst the top European juveniles last season and the Oasis Dream colt will bid to make amends for his second outing of his three year-old campaign.

Interviewed by the French press, Freddy Head's words and body language were rather worrying as to Naaqoos' future. He declared on Equidia (the French equivalent of AttheRaces or RacingUK) that his protege's performance ''was certainly disappointing and added that the once 2,000 Guineas favorite was 'douteux' (read doubtful) for Newmarket''.

Formerly known as the 'Grand Criterium', this race was cut to 1,400 m in 2001 and renamed 'the Jean-Luc Lagardere' in 2003. The likes of Rock of Gibraltar (2001), American Post (2003), Oratorio (2004), Horatio Nelson (2005) and Holy Roman Emperor (2006) emerged from this, so it mustn't be too bad a race...and Naaqoos is last year's winner... In his reappearance in the Guineas French trial at Maisons-Laffitte he did not look entirely at home and he was surprised rather than dominated.
A close look at the replay of the race will show that Naaqoos would have beaten Le Havre a few yards later.. Bearing that evidence in mind it is fair to assume that Naaqoos was not fully wound up and that this run in the Djebel will have done him the world of good.

Another fact is that Hamdan Al Maktoum's horse boasts an unbeaten record at Longchamp and his form reads : 1/7 and 1/5, when two lengths clear from Intense Focus and two lengths and a half ahead of MasterCraftsMan who by the way ran very creditably in the 2,000 (short of room in the closing stages). Pedigree and running style suggest that the mile will not be a problem but for what it's worth I do believe the 'problem' could be Jim Bolger's colt in the shape of Vocalised...



sources : www.racingpost.com - france-galop.com