Sakhee not the same, says Hamdan

Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance and Industry on Tuesday admitted that Sakhee is not the same horse he was last year and dismissed any comparisons between Nayef and the great Nashwan.

Sakhee, which races under the banner of the Godolphin operation created by General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defence, was a top performer in 2001 winning the prestigious Juddmonte Stakes and Arc before failing to win the Breeders Cup by a nose.

But the Bahri horse has failed to reproduce that sparkling form this season, finishing a disappointing third in the Dubai World Cup in March before being beaten on his European comeback in Deauville, France two weeks ago.

Speaking to reporters in the winner's circle at York, Sheikh Hamdan, who bred and owns Sakhee said: "Sakhee is not the Sakhee of last year. He has got something anchoring him."

Sheikh Hamdan suggested that the knee trouble that cut short Sakhee's three-year-old career may have been the cause of his shock defeat in the Prix Gontaut-Biron at Deauville.

"I haven't checked with Sheikh Mohammed but I have seen the trainer (Saeed bin Suroor) today and he is much happier," the Racing Post reported Hamdan saying.

"After they work on Sakhee and after the treatment we will see. Don't forget that two years ago he had knee problems. That is what I think may be troubling him now but I haven't spoken to the vet.

"You remember at Deauville he was carrying his head up and he was sweating before the race."

Sheikh Hamdan also confirmed that Sakhee is currently undergoing treatment but did not rule him out of participating in the Group 1 Irish Champion Stakes on September 1, his intended race prior to his defeat by Wellbeing in Deauville.

Sheikh Hamdan, however, discounted the possibility of Sakhee travelling to Arlington for the Breeders' Cup meeting.

"It is a long way as it would be a 30-hour trip. And he has been on the go since March."

Sheikh Hamdan also warned racing experts not to compare Nayef, Tuesday's battling winner of the Juddmonte International at York, with his half-brother Nashwan, who was also bred and owned by Sheikh Hamdan.

Nashwan, one of British racing's all-time greats, won four prestigious Group 1 contests in 1989.

"He is not Nashwan," Hamdan said after Nayef's victory over Golan in the Juddmonte. "Nashwan won the Guineas, the Derby, the Eclipse and the King George, and the Major (Dick Hern) told me he wanted to run him in July."

Nayef has now won eight of his 14 career starts, with three Group 1 victories and earnings of over £1.6m.

He is trained by Marcus Tregoning, a former assistant to Hern.