Al Maktoum Challenge the Next Stop for Facteur Cheval

[Wandering Eyes]

Facteur Cheval (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}) is being targeted at the G1 Al Maktoum Challenge at Meydan on Friday, January 24, according to Fred Heyman, who was recently named president of Team Valor International.

Trained by Jerome Reynier for Team Valor, Facteur Cheval is no stranger to Meydan, having made the breakthrough at the top level when winning the $5-million Dubai Turf back in March. He was last seen filling the runner-up spot in the G1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, pushing the outstanding miler Charyn (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) all the way to the line.

The five-year-old now has a return to Dubai this winter on his agenda, with his connections keen to test him on dirt in preparation for a potential tilt at the G1 Dubai World Cup.

In a video posted on X by the Dubai Racing Club (@RacingDubai), Heyman said of Facteur Cheval, “We are so proud of him. He just dances every dance, he shows up, and he put in what we thought was a remarkable performance at Ascot, not taking anything away from Charyn, probably one of the best milers in training in Europe right now.

“Our plan is to send him over to Dubai. We've always thought that he had the potential to be a very nice horse on the dirt, in terms of the way he moves across the dirt track. It looks like we're going to be looking at the Al Maktoum Challenge, which is run on the dirt in the middle of January, with perhaps the ultimate goal being the Dubai World Cup.”

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