Following his shock return to training earlier this year, Al Kazeem has steadily been preparing himself. But the wait is over, as the three-time Group 1 winner from last season is set to make his return to Group 1 action in the Irish Champion Stakes next month.
Al Kazeem: last season’s winner set for Group 1 return PICTURE: Getty Images
After being retired to stud at the end of last season, and ultimately being bought by the Queen and syndicated among the world’s leading breeders, Al Kazeem proved to be sub fertile after failing to reach the required fertility levels. So trainer Roger Charlton decided to return him to training in May.
Charlton is eyeing up a tilt in the Leopardstown race for the six year old, after he won his latest outing on the weekend. Al Kazeem had a brilliant season last year, winning five consecutive races which included the Tattersall Gold Cup, Prince of Wales’s Stakes, and Coral-Eclipse (all Group 1). However, after a stint in retirement, the colt wasn’t in a state to just return to the competitive racing field.
His comeback run was in the Doom Bar Stakes at Newbury back in July, where he finished fourth. But his next outing would prove much more successful. The son of Dubawi returned to his winning ways in record-breaking style in the Group 3 Winter Hill Stakes at Windsor last Sunday, beating True Story by half a length and shaving 1.33 seconds of the course record at Windsor.
Following the success, Charlton is confident the colt is ready for his return to the highest level.
The trainer said: “Mixed fortunes on Saturday with Al Kazeem doing all that could have been expected from him, returning to the winner’s enclosure in great style and in the process lowering the course record by 1.33 seconds which I gather is the equivalent of seven or eight lengths.
“Unfortunately there are no Group races over nine or ten furlongs in England during September so we have not ruled out the idea of returning to Leopardstown to run in the Irish Champion Stakes.
“There is also the La Coupe de Maisons-Laffitte Group 3 in France over a straight ten furlongs on September 19th as an alternative.”
Writing on his website, Charlton added: “He clearly needs to improve again to have any chance of adding to his three Group 1s but it is not impossible and we both like a challenge.”
“He has come out of his race well and he was his normal fresh and happy self this morning, in fact he dropped his regular rider while trotting.”
Al Kazeem is an outside shot for the Irish Champion at 
Paddy Power with odds of 20-1. Australia leads the field at 2-7, followed by Noble Mission (8-1), Mukhadram, Magician (10-1), Trading Leather (12-1), True Story (14-1), and Kingston Hill (16-1).
However, there are fears the trip to Leopardstown will come too soon after his stellar victory at Windsor.
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