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19 Apr 2018

Classic Contenders In The Spotlight: Elarqam

Elarqam QIPCO 2000 Guineas

In the first of a five-part series, we considers the merits of the regally bred unbeaten colt trained by Mark Johnston.

Horse: ELARQAM

Trainer: Mark Johnston. Form: 11

Buying horses for big money is no guarantee of success but it has been a case of so far so good for Elarqam, who changed hands for 1,600,000gns at Tattersalls Book 1 yearling sale in October 2016.

The bay colt recouped £36,118 of that last year for his new owner, Sheikh Hamdan al Maktoum, by winning both the races he contested.

After a taking debut win in a minor event over seven furlongs at York he was fast-tracked to the Group 3 Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket 18 days later and won by just over two lengths from Tip Two Win.

Mark Johnston, his trainer, has saddled at least 100 winners per season for the past 24 years but said afterwards it had been one of his most nervous moments on a racecourse.

“Coming second today would have been a desperate disappointment to me,” he admitted.

Johnston trained Elarqam’s dam, Attraction, a brilliantly speedy two-year-old in 2003 who went on to win five Group 1 races over a mile – including the English and Irish versions of the 1000 Guineas.

He was also among the many admirers of Elarqam’s sire, Frankel, who won nine QIPCO British Champions Series races and ended his flawless career unbeaten in 14 starts.

With a pedigree like that, it is little wonder Elarqam found himself in demand when he walked around the sales ring.

The QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 5 is at the top of his agenda and this month Johnston reported that the colt “appears to have done very, very well over the winter”.

He added: “He is being aimed at the 2000 Guineas and everything is on target at the moment for him to go there without another race.

“The plan is for him to have a racecourse gallop at Redcar or Pontefract on either April 2 or 3 and if everything goes well we might take him down to Newmarket during the Craven Meeting (April 17-19) for another racecourse gallop, when Sheikh Hamdan (Al Maktoum, owner) should be able to watch.

“As a son of Attraction he holds a special place in my heart and from my point of view he couldn’t have a better pedigree, being by Frankel out of Attraction. He is the spitting image of his mother – he looks like a male version of her.”