Manjaam headed to Ascot on Saturday having recently finished a fine second in the Ulster Derby at Down Royal. The son of Tamayuz missed Royal Ascot due to the prevailing soft ground there but after a week of dry weather leading up to last weekend, the ground was ideal for him at the Berkshire venue. Pat Smullen soon had our colt in an ideal spot sat on the quarters of the favourite Shabbah who took the field along at an even tempo in the early stages of the race. As they hit the two furlong marker Manjaam hit the front and he was pressed on both sides in the gallop to the line. The gallant chestnut stuck his neck out and found plenty for pressure to hold the rallying Shabbah by a head with Dal Harraild finishing fast to finish a further head behind in third.
This valuable handicap is nearly always won by a good horse and subsequent Group Winner Dartmouth won this contest last year. The horses that looked the most progressive were to the fore here and we hope the form will hold up in the future. The handicapper cannot be too hard on Manjaam given the proximity of the second and the third and we hope he can remain competitive in some decent contests later in the season. Having started the season off a mark of 69 he has improved nearly two stone since his campaign began back at the end of February.
Congratulations to Manjaam’s owner Mr Mohammed Jaber and also to the team at La Grange who have kept the hard work up in recent weeks. This was the thirty eighth winner of the season in 2016 and with a lot of unraced two year olds still to come we hope we can push on from here in the coming weeks.