Saeed bin Suroor Biding His Time With Benbatl

Benbatl

Leading trainer Saeed bin Suroor is yet to nail down specific plans for his stable star Benbatl and it is very much up in the air whether the six year old will even race in Britain this season.

The son of Dubawi has been the shining light over the last few years for his handler landing three Group One races along the way in Germany, Australia and the UAE all on turf.

However, in the last year the horse has shown his versatility when switching to the dirt in preparation for the richest race in the world, the Saudi Cup.

Benbatl back in February landed a Group Two at Meydan on his first run on the dirt before running a huge race to be third in the inaugural $20 million Saudi Cup.

He was set to run in the Dubai World Cup in March but with the prestigious meeting postponed due to the on going crisis in the world, bin Suroor is waiting for the right race to target his star at.

The trainer said: “He’s doing good. He was absolutely flying in Dubai and the ready for the Dubai World Cup. But the race was cancelled and he has had an easy time.

“He’s not going to run until the second half of the season in England and we’ll make a plan to see for the future. He’s having a break as he ran in Dubai and Saudi Arabia and we need to look after him for the big races coming.

“We’ll see (about Royal Ascot), we’ll keep the options open. He’s really a tough horse. I thought he was going to win the Dubai World Cup, the way he worked and trained and looked. He was ready after the Saudi Cup.

“He handles either surface really well.”