Elzaam Team Target Golden Jubilee

Elzaam, beaten a nose in last year’s Group 2 Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot by Strong Suit, looks set to appear again at the royal meeting next month in the Group 1 Golden Jubilee Stakes, writes Elliot Slater.

Trained by Roger Varian, (the man who took over recently from the now retired Michael Jarvis), Elzaam bounced back to something approaching his best form when impressively winning the listed Carnarvon Stakes at Newbury last week, showing tremendous pace to slam the decent Cape To Rio by six-lengths. That effort came on the back of a bitterly disappointing seasonal reappearance when Sheikh Hamdan al Makhtoum’s colt failed to respond as anticipated to a first-time visor, fading to finish a disappointing fifth of the six runner field in the European Free Handicap at Newmarket’s Craven fixture a month earlier. Those following the Royal Ascot odds would have been pleased with the way he responded to his poor start to the season.

Last year Elzaam looked as if he might go to the top of the juvenile tree, but after losing by the narrowest of margins to the smart Strong Suit he ran a little below expectations when a beaten odds-on favourite behind Libranno in the Group 2 TNT July Stakes at Newmarket, before being given a mid-season break. He returned at the end of October wearing blinkers to run Klammer to a neck in the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury, but it’s fair to say that connections felt that their charge hadn’t proved quite as good as had been originally thought.

Returning to form with a vengeance however last time out, Elzaam is now back to form according to connections who are looking seriously at a crack at the Golden Jubilee Stakes, a race that is panning out to be one of the highlights of the five-day Royal Ascot extravaganza. The Redoute’s Choice colt is generally a 12/1 shot to win the six-furlong sprint, behind another back-to-form contender Delegator, 8/1jf with Singapore-based speedster Rocket Man, winner of the Group 1 sprint in Dubai at March’s World Cup meeting.