Mill Reef Stakes Tips: Exciting Sakheer to bound to Newbury win

Some exciting, improving two-year-olds will line up for the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury on Saturday afternoon, as they look to potentially push their name into the Classic picture next season, and our in-house tipster Steve Chambers is here with his big-race preview and picks out his best bet for the race...

Roger Varian and David Egan teamed up last weekend to claim St Leger glory with Eldar Eldarov and the deadly duo are back again to try and claim more weekend Group success, and the pair will unleash the red-hot 11/10 favourite SAKHEER, who has shaped like a really exciting colt and looks the one to beat in the Mill Reef Stakes. A promising second on debut at Windsor, when well fancied, the son of Zoffany improved immeasurably for his second start as he bounded to an eye-catching six-length winner at Haydock earlier this month in a novice stakes.

Sent off odds-on that day, he was entitled to win with his head in chest, but the manner in which he dispatched his rivals suggested there could be more to come from him, and in the aftermath of that success he was given quotes of 50/1 for next season's 2000 Guineas at Newmarket. He will face a much stiffer test on Saturday, but the manner in which he quickened away at Haydock was seriously impressive, and he's entitled to be a warm order for this event, as he could potentially be a notable Group horse for the foreseeable future.

Richard Hannon will saddle two in this event at the weekend, but flying the flag for that operation is the in-form Shouldvebeenaring, who has racked up a hat-trick of wins and is a 5/2 second favourite to land the four-timer here. Having won at Ripon on his second start, the son of Havana Grey then went and won a valuable sales race at York before edging out Bolt Action in a Listed event back at Ripon last month. That pair pulled over two lengths clear of the rest of the field, and he showed a tremendous attitude to get his head in front that day, and he will have a bit more experience than the favourite here. However, he may just lack the class of his main market rival here and he could just struggle to deal with the turn of pace Sakheer has to offer.

There's a significant chasm in the betting between the front two in the betting and the remaining five runners and next in at 8/1 is the Clive Cox-trained once-raced Heroism, who will need to kick on from a debut success. The Invincible Spirit colt downed a red-hot odds-on favourite Hello Deira at Salisbury last month, and that raider was last seen winning at Redcar, so Cox's charge does have some intrigue about him, but on only his second start he will need to be a really good sort to win this.

Varian won't have all his eggs in a Sakheer-shaped basket, as the Classic winning trainer will also saddle Charyn (12/1), who won on debut at Haydock, but failed to follow up in a novice event at Newmarket. Narrowly beaten that day, the Dark Angel colt is sure to improve again for that second run, but will need a lot more here to down his stablemate.

The Hannon second string appears to be Wallop (14/1), who put up a decent effort when third to Noble Style on debut at Newmarket in July, but he's not been seen on the track since, so this could be a little too much for him. Completing the seven-strong field will be Rousing Encore (18/1) and Mustajaab (40/1), and the former has failed to kick from a fine sixth in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot back in June. Fifth in a Listed event at York in August, Rousing Encore will need to kick on from that, while Mustajaab narrowly won a maiden race at Ffos Las on his second start, but this is a whole new ball game in a race that can go the way of the favourite.