Sajir and Nahraan Ready to Showcase Stallion Potential for Prince Faisal

[Wandering Eyes]

Despite having flown to Lexington as recently as Tuesday, there was never any chance of Ted Voute not being at Deauville this weekend, with the jet-setting adviser to Prince Faisal describing himself as “quietly quite excited” about the prospects of Sajir when the son of Make Believe lines up in Sunday's G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest.

After gaining a second Group 3 triumph in April's Abernant Stakes at Newmarket, Sajir was then conceding 2lb to his conqueror, Topgear (Wootton Bassett), when filling the runner-up spot in the Prix du Palais-Royal at ParisLongchamp the following month.

That form nugget is fueling Voute's optimism that Sajir can be competitive on Sunday, in against some of the best sprinters that Europe has to offer. Above all else, with over 4,000 air miles set to be racked up in his commitment to the cause, Voute is simply hoping that Sajir himself doesn't get stuck on the runway this time, having been withdrawn from the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot after getting upset in the stalls.

“That was so out of character,” Voute says of that incident. “I think it was just the heat on that day. He was in for a long time and Oisin [Murphy, jockey] said he went to go under the front of the stall. Oisin pulled his head up and the next thing he was kicking out. He had some scrapes on his hind legs after that, but nothing broke the skin. We've obviously been careful with him since and Andre [Fabre, trainer] thinks he's ready to run. Let's just hope he jumps out of the gate this time!”

Sajir could be joined by up to 10 rivals in the gate for the Maurice de Gheest, including six individual Group 1 winners, headed by defending champion and Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee hero Lazzat. Should Lazzat retain his title, then champion sprinter status for the son of Territories would be all but assured, but recent history has taught us to expect the unexpected in this division.

“It looks quite a tough race, but with those sprinters you just never know,” Voute points out. “They all take it in turns and some of the top ones don't need much to go wrong to not perform like they should on the day.

“I'm quietly quite excited about going. I'm in Lexington at the moment, but I'm going to fly back so I can go to Deauville because I think he could run one of his best races there. Whether he can win it or not, I don't know, but he's got Oisin on top. Let's hope we can get a big race out of him somewhere and maybe then we'll have another stallion on our hands.”

As the conversation meanders through the rest of Prince Faisal's best and brightest prospects, the topic of producing stallions becomes a recurring theme. Not content with giving us the breed-shaping brothers Invincible Spirit and Kodiac, it would seem that Prince Faisal's quest to uncover the next big thing in the breeding shed continues apace.

The first foals by three-time Group 1 and Saudi Cup winner Mishriff arrived earlier this year, a source of immense pride for his owner-breeder, while many would share Voute's view that Make Believe was a steal at the career-low fee of €8,000 he stood for this year at Ballylinch Stud.

“He's incredibly good value,” Voute says of the Classic-winning sire of both Mishriff and Sajir, as well as Klaynn, the seven-length winner of this year's Oaks d'Italia. “We've probably been more successful with him than a lot of people, but we probably send him more mares. It's worked out nicely for us.

“He should get 100 mares every year and, hopefully, if we can get some of the race records right this year, with the likes of Sajir, we might be able to get his book filled again.”

Another homebred with the potential to put wind back in the Make Believe sails is the John and Thady-Gosden-trained Nahraan, who announced himself as potentially something out of the ordinary when making a successful debut at Wolverhampton in May, coming from miles back to upset the now-100-rated favourite Cajole (Dubawi).

Voute admits to being incredulous in the aftermath of that victory, having travelled to Wolves more in hope than expectation, whereas relief was the overriding emotion at Hamilton last month when Nahraan clung on by a nose to win the Listed Glasgow Stakes.

 

What a race!

Nahraan (Make Believe) makes it three from three – just! – in a thrilling Listed @BritishEBF Glasgow Stakes for @oismurphy, John and Thady Gosden and Prince Faisal @HamiltonParkRC pic.twitter.com/cAvvvLlBIG

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 18, 2025

 

“It was a bit close for my liking!” Voute says of that performance. “I wish he'd won with more in hand, but I think it might have been the distance that made it so tight. We pretty much proved to ourselves that a mile and a half might be a bit too far for him. That was a mile and three [furlongs] and I think we learnt that it was right on his limit in terms of distance.”

A notable absentee from the declarations for Saturday's Rose Of Lancaster Stakes at Haydock, Nahraan is another who now looks to be Deauville-bound. His connections are weighing up a tilt at the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano on Saturday week.

“We were keeping our options open, but I think we'll probably go to Deauville,” says Voute. “It will be a very hot race – I think Charlie Appleby is going to run his Guineas winner [Ruling Court] there – but he has to step up at some stage. To do that against the three-year-olds might be the best thing for him, even though it is a Group 2. Otherwise, he'd have to take on the older horses.”

Giving a glimpse into the excitement surrounding the unbeaten Nahraan, Voute adds, “It does look like we could have a very nice horse on our hands. When you have these horses, you think they come around quite easily, but they really don't. They are very special when they come along.

“The Prince is always trying to make a stallion out of these horses and he's been very lucky in getting a few over the line. He's a very patient man and, between him and John, I'm sure they'll decide the best route. Obviously, we'd like to progress to a Group 1 and we've entered him in everything he's eligible for, including the Champion Stakes.”

Nahraan is the first foal out of the dual winner First Kingdom, a half-sister to Sajir and among a select bunch of Prince Faisal's mares with a Mishriff foal on the ground this year.

“The Prince has always bred to Frankel or bought yearlings by him,” Voute says of First Kingdom's sire. “From the first crop, he's been very supportive all the way through. We're very lucky that he's ended up being a good broodmare sire and we've got some of the first ones who show that. First Kingdom also has a two-year-old filly by Olden Times with Andrew Balding which is the second foal. Sadly, she didn't get in foal this year to Dark Angel, but she's got a Mishriff foal which is very nice.

“We're very pleased with what we've got,” he adds of Mishriff's first foals. “We bought two mares to go to him. Sadly, [triple Group 3 winner] Oscula didn't have a foal, but [Group 2 winner] Bounce The Blues did. We obviously sent First Kingdom as well and we've sent three or four others back again this year. He's been well supported and it's very exciting.”

“Very exciting” is also the phrase used to describe the two-year-old Oxagon, who earned 'TDN Rising Star' status when winning his maiden by eight lengths at Sandown last week. The son of Frankel is out of Godolphin's homebred mare Endless Charm (Dubawi), but the family can be traced back to Prince Faisal's very best – he bred and raced the third dam Wosaita (Generous), a half-sister to the Prix de Diane heroine Rafha, the dam of Invincible Spirit and Kodiac and third dam of Mishriff.

 

Oxagon (Frankel) sheds his maiden at the second time of asking under Luke Catton for John & Thady Gosden in the Chasemore Farm @BritishEBF Novice Stakes @Sandownpark pic.twitter.com/vMYHX2bZpg

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 30, 2025

 

“Again, we've got to try and keep our feet on the ground,” Voute says of Oxagon. “We were claiming 5lb with Luke Catton [at Sandown] and it was only a class 4. We're going the right way, but we need to choose our spots.

“John Gosden obviously thinks a bit of him, though, because he's entered him well. We've got him in all of the seven-furlong races. We put him in the Champagne the other day and we'll probably put him in the Acomb. It will be up to the Prince and John, they do that race planning better than anyone else, but I think it will be a black-type race for him somewhere.

“Let's just hope we keep going the right way. Sometimes you tempt fate and, when you get two weeks down the road, all of the bubbles have burst. But he's definitely exciting.”

Certainly, if there is one horse who has taught Prince Faisal and Voute not to get ahead of themselves, then it must be Eydon, the now-six-year-old who has raced just six times since finishing fourth in the 2022 edition of the 2,000 Guineas.

There's little doubt that the engine is still in full working order, as Eydon demonstrated when last seen winning May's Aston Park Stakes, but once again the chassis let him down in the aftermath of that Newbury success.

“He's back now and he's going the right way,” Voute says of Eydon's recovery from his latest setback. “He just has a niggly problem every single time and they're all different. It's never anything major. He just needs a bit of box rest and then everything comes good.

“It started when he was at Roger Varian's. He got cast in his box before the Derby and that was sort of it. It's always at the most inopportune times, the day of a race or a week or two after. We think we've got over the hurdle and then something comes out of nowhere.”

Provided another bolt from the blue doesn't come along, then Eydon should be seen on a racecourse again before the end of the year, with Voute keeping everything crossed that he can land another big pot to reward the patience of Prince Faisal. It would also go a long way to guaranteeing him some mares at his door, in an attempt to continue the line of his sire, the Prix Jean Prat winner Olden Times, a son of Darshaan, who died last year at the age of 26.

Whilst it would be fair to say that Olden Times was never the most fashionable stallion – his largest crop of foals was the 25 born in 2009 – the female side of Eydon's pedigree is littered with some of Prince Faisal's most happening names. Indeed, his dam, Moon Mountain (Frankel), is a half-sister to Simple Magic, the dam of Sajir and second dam of Nahraan.

“The Prince has been so patient, I would love it for him if we could win a decent race with Eydon,” Voute sums up. “He probably would then stand him as a private stallion. I don't know how many people would like to breed to him, but it's a sire line that is expiring and it would be great if we could continue that somehow.

“The Prince did it with Olden Times and his own mares. Sadly, he's now gone, so Eydon would be a nice replacement.”

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