Aqaleem set for Gordon glory

AQALEEM can follow in the footsteps of Sixties Icon last year in getting beaten in the Derby before going onto Gordon Stakes glory at Goodwood today.

Marcus Tregoning’s charge has been on a steep upward curve this season and after winning the Lingfield Derby Trial by four lengths, he ran a blinder to finish third behind Authorized in the Epsom Classic. Tregoning resisted the temptation to take his charge over to the Curragh for the Irish equivalent, a wise decision in hindsight given the conditions, and instead has planned a St Leger campaign.

Kevin Prendergast’s Mores Wells brings some top-class Irish form into the mix but one gets the impression that those he beat earlier in the season in the Ballysax have now caught him up. Henry Cecil’s Tranquil Tiger may give the selection most to think about.