Taj on track for Epsom
Michael Stoute’s Dee Stakes winner Tajaaweed is set to take his place in the Vodafone Derby at Epsom on June 7.
After failing to make an impact on only his second start in the Racing Post Trophy as a juvenile, the Dynaformer colt returned to the fray with a bang when cutting down Henry Cecil’s subsequent winner Unnefer in impressive fashion at Chester.
Angus Gold, racing manager for owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, said: “I think he will run as long as everybody is happy with him.
“Obviously, we were thrilled with him last time as he did it very well at Chester and as long as everything progresses smoothly in the next 10 days, I hope we’ll be there.”
Unnefer provided the Dee form with a bit of a boost when posting a cosy win in Listed company on Saturday to leave connections of Tajaaweed with cause for optimism.
“It was nice to see Unnefer at the weekend, it never does any harm,” Gold continued.
“Maybe there isn’t a standout in the Derby but there are obviously some very decent horses in there and we’ll see if he’s up to it.
“He’s done everything right this year so I think we’ll have a crack at it.”
Tajaaweed is available at 8-1 with a number of firms for the Derby.
