Saeed Bin Suroor still has high hopes for novice winner Elwateen
Saeed bin Suroor reports Soft Whisper to be in fine form ahead of the Saudi Derby
Saeed Bin Suroor is still confident that his novice winner Elwateen can make her mark at the top level despite a curtailed campaign in 2024.
The Shadwell-owned daughter of Dubawi made a huge impression when winning at Kempton on debut, showing plenty of class and a willing attitude to repel subsequent scorer Orchid.
What made the performance even more impressive was Bin Suroor’s insistence that she was not fully wound up for her first outing, suggesting an immediate step up in company at the back-end of the season.
Elwateen ultimately missed those high-ranking end-of-year assignments with a persistent setback, but Bin Suroor is extremely optimistic the talented filly can justify his lofty opinion next term.
“She was fine after Kempton, but she has been coughing for a long time and to be honest, even before she ran she had this problem,” explained Bin Suroor.
“We treated her for it and she went and won well and when she came back, she was coughing again. We got close to running again, but I said ‘OK let’s stop and have a break over the winter’ and I will find her a race next spring before maybe running her in the Guineas if she is good enough.
“The way she trains and with her pedigree, she should be a nice filly. She’s a strong, tough filly and when she ran at Kempton she was only 80-85 per cent fit – that shows her class.
“I definitely think she’s a Group filly and it would be great to give her a chance in some big races as well.”
Elwateen can be backed at 50/1 for next year's 1000 Guineas, while she is a 66/1 chance for the Oaks at Epsom.
