Newmarket, England: The Meydan Sprint winner Sir Maximilian may be a six-year-old with a profile making him look rather exposed, but his win on Super Saturday indicated that he is on the upgrade these days.
He came with a storming run from behind, found his way between horses, and got up to pip Ahtoug and Caspar Netscher in a triple photo finish.
Sir Maximilian, who won two Listed class sprints in Ireland last year, had run fifth in a competitive handicap over the same 1000-metres trip seven days earlier, when passing the post just under three lengths behind Ertijaal – another very interesting turf sprinter who is on the up in the ladder these days.
There isn’t much between these turf sprinters, and luck in running is bound to matter.
The Al Quoz Sprint has been won by some seriously good speed merchants over the years, and from time to time we have seen a dominant performance.
That may not be the case this time, as the top half dozen going for the race are very closely matched.
-- The author is the editor of Globeform.com, a Newmarket-based independent racing and handicapping publication
