Rising trainer Alice Haynes is happy to go globetrotting with her stable star Mr Professor, who looks set for an international campaign kicking off in Meydan.
The three-year-old bagged a Listed prize on his final start last season, landing the Silver Tankard Stakes at Pontefract under Silvestre De Sousa, lowering the colours of the highly-touted Westover in the process.
That victory has allowed Haynes to dream big with the gelding, who opens up his three-year-old account on Friday in the Jumeirah Classic Trial in Meydan.
She told Sky Sports Racing: “He’ll run this Friday and next Friday in the Derby Trial and then we’ll probably skip a week and run in the Jumeirah Classic in the first week of February.
“We have entered him in the Saudi Derby so that’s an option but there’s 339 entries and it’s a long way away.
“With restrictions from here [Meydan] to Saudi, he has to come back for the World Cup or else the quarantine is very strict.
“We’ll have to see how he runs in his first couple of runs and make plans. There’s a race on All-Weather Finals Day over a mile and there’s plenty of options for him.
“I feel that as the season starts, where other horses will be using races as a prep run, that’ll be our Derby day.
“But I’m not afraid to take him abroad to France, Germany or Italy if the prize money is there and the Group races are slightly weaker.”
Haynes also trains in-form sprinter Strong Power, who has proved a revelation around Lingfield with a trio of victories in the last month.
He is set for a trip to the sales next week, although Haynes is hoping to keep the speedster, who broke the track record at Lingfield earlier this month.
“He is in the sales and unfortunately everything is a business so if the owners want to sell him, we have to but I’d love to keep him,” she added.
Source : Sky Sports
