Siskin Heading To Middle Park Stakes At Newmarket

Siskin

Ger Lyons unbeaten juvenile Siskin looks set for his first trip to England in the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket as the two year old is hungry for another Group One challenge.

Connections of the colt believe it is an obvious choice for the youngster who has been overly progressive this season landing his first black type victory last time out at the Curragh in the Phoenix Stakes.

Another option for the two year old could be to step up to seven furlong and go for the Dewhurst Stakes but whatever his next race will be he will be having his first start in England where we will truly see how good a juvenile he is.

Prince Khalid Abdullah's horse has an Irish entry back at his favourite course the Curragh in the National Stakes but racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe expects the Middle Park to be his main aim.

He said: “The Middle Park Stakes is a natural sequitur for Siskin following his Phoenix Stakes win and looks to be his main target, though there is a possibility he could run in the National Stakes.

“Any decision about the Dewhurst Stakes would not be taken until we’ve seen how he goes in the Middle Park.

“His Phoenix Stakes victory was very pleasing. He found the ground a bit soft but was well on top in the last few strides, so there is no question that it was a smart performance.

“He’s been fine since then and Ger has been pleased with him. He seems to be going the right way.

”He added: “There has been some talk about him having plenty of stamina on the dam’s side of his pedigree but his mother, Bird Flown, won over seven furlongs, his sire, First Defence, was a seven-furlong horse, and his dam’s sire, Oasis Dream, was a sprinter.

“You can take what you like out of a pedigree. I would say that his is essentially quite a fast pedigree, though you would still hope that he would get a mile.”

It is still very early days with the declarations for the Middle Park Stakes with 53 runners currently in the mix for the contest with rivals to Siskin like Arizona for Aidan O'Brien and A'Ali for Simon Crisford having big potential to head to the Group One in late September.

In the Dewhurst it looks like Siskin's main rival would be the Unbeaten superstar Pinatubo who looks to be one of the best two year olds in the sport at the moment off the back of his wins at Royal Ascot and Goodwood.