Raaheeb, a full brother to the exceptional Baaeed, is top-priced at 10-1 to emulate his sire, Sea The Stars, by winning the Derby at Epsom in June after a convincing in the Group Three Classic Trial at Sandown on Friday.
Owen Burrows’s impeccably bred colt, who is also a full brother to the trainer’s 2023 King George winner, Hukum, was unruly at the stalls but travelled comfortably for Rossa Ryan once the race was under way.
His smooth progress to the two-furlong pole was in marked contrast to the favourite, Aidan O’Brien’s Action, who was slow to stride, looked reluctant in the early stages and then struggled to raise a finishing as Ryan and Raaheeb struck for home.
Raaheeb then stayed on strongly up the hill to the line to maintain his unbeaten record after two starts, with Charlie Appleby’s Al Zanati three-and-a-quarter lengths adrift in second.
Baaeed did not see a racecourse until two days after the Derby in his three-year-old season, while Hukum was a six-year-old by the time of his biggest wins, in the Coronation Cup and King George.
That might pose a question as to whether the Derby, on 6 June, could come too soon in Raaheeb’s career, but for moment he is as short as 8-1 to become the second horse in the last six runnings of Sandown’s Classic Trial to go on to win the sport’s premier Classic. O’Brien trains the pair currently heading the betting in Benvenuto Cellini and Pierre Bonnard.
“To be honest, I came here today thinking if we finished in the frame, I would be pleased,” Burrows said, “so to win like he did, it’s surprised me a little bit.
“If he had got beat today I wouldn’t have been disappointed, as long as he ran a nice race. It was a big learning curve today and we chucked him into the deep end because we wanted to know what’s what, and got a nice answer.
“I don’t want to commit to Epsom at this stage, and there’s [Royal] Ascot and then the Irish Derby, so we will have to see. I don’t think I’ve had one as good as this three-year-old-wise, and not with his potential at this stage. He’s better than Hukum was at this stage. He’s an important horse and we have to make sure we get it right.”
Opera Ballo got away to a flying start in the day’s main supporting race, the Bet365 Mile, and never looked likely to be caught on the way to a three-length defeat of last year’s St James’s Palace Stakes winner, Field Of Gold.
Bath 2.00 Moon Over The Sea 2.30 Rating 3.00 Crown Of Ivy 3.30 Alvin 4.00 Solar Edge (nap) 4.30 Special Ghaiyyath (nb) 5.00 Denby’s Dream
Lingfield 2.15 Balgowan 2.45 Travel Agent 3.15 St Hilda 3.45 El Matador 4.15 Gladiadora 4.45 Mighty Vega 5.20 Way Of Life
Wolverhampton 5.30 Voldendam 6.00 Littlecote 6.30 Echalar 7.00 Vidmiyr 7.30 Giles Glory 8.00 Montu 8.30 Candy Warhol
“This horse is electric out of the gates and Will [Buick, his jockey] has always said he’ll take two or three lengths out of them out of the gates,” Charlie Appleby, the winner’s trainer, said. “Full credit to the horses in behind for getting so close.”
Opera Ballo is now likely to step up slightly in trip for the Group One Prix D’Ispahan at Longchamp in May, while Field Of Gold is priced up at around 100-30 for the Group One Lockinge Stakes at Newbury in May.
“You’ll never beat a front-runner around here when they go off like that,” John Gosden, Field Of Gold’s trainer, said. “He’s only had one race in nine months, and he was going to need it to bring him forwards.”
