Leopardstown eyecatcher Akeed set to tackle Beresford Stakes
It is beginning to look as though the hugely respected Irish handler John Oxx might well have another serious colt on his hands in the shape of Akeed Mofeed, a very impressive winner in maiden company at Leopardstown's Champion Stakes fixture in early September.
The man who so expertly guided the brilliant career of Sea The Stars during the 2008/9 seasons, (winning six Group 1 races in one term with the outstanding Cape Cross colt), is planning to step up Akeed Mofeed straight from maiden company to the Group 2 Beresford Stakes at the Curragh on September 25, a clear indication that he holds the juvenile son of Dubawi in high regard.
Oxx is not one for tilting at windmills and the Jaber Abdullah-owned colt certainly caught the eye of many knowledgeable judges when slamming the Aidan O'Brien-trained odds-on favourite Athens by an eased down five-lengths. There was a definite buzz around the winners' enclosure when the victor returned with many believing that they might well have seen a potentially top class horse in the making. It may even be enough to attract people who usually focus on Grand National tips.
Things went much better for Akeem Mofeed at Leopardstown than had been the case at the same course a month earlier on debut when he got hit on the head by another horse just as the stalls opened and Johnny Murtagh reported to Bruce Raymond, (racing manager to Jaber Abdullah), that the horse had run as though only half-conscious for the first quarter mile! Despite this major handicap, connections were thrilled to see the debutant knuckling down to the task throughout the final two furlongs to finish a staying-on fourth of the 13 runners behind Learn. Anyone following the Grand National betting online would have been impressed.
A big performance in the Beresford Stakes would doubtless see Akeem Mofeed enter calculations for next season's 2000 Guineas so an early speculative investment might prove a shrewd move.
