Karl Burke’s unbeaten Kadar to take on big guns in the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster
THE UNBEATEN Kadar will be out to dent some big reputations in Saturday's Vertem Futurity Trophy.
Yorkshire-based trainer Karl Burke is set to pitch the exciting colt into Group 1 company on just his second start at Doncaster this weekend.
The two-year-old, who cost an eye-watering €700,000 at the sales earlier this year, made an impressive winning debut at Haydock last month.
He easily downed a couple of smart types despite running green in the home straight under jockey Clifford Lee.
The son of Scat Daddy is a general 8-1 poke for the final Group 1 of the UK Flat season, where he will take on the likes of Magna Grecia and Turgenev.
Despite Kadar's inexperience, Burke is of the opinion that the colt has the ability to mix it at the top-level.
UP FOR THE CUP Everything you need to know about the Breeders' Cup 2018
Burke told Sun Racing: "We have liked Kadar from day one.
"He was an expensive buy at the breeze-ups and he won his maiden first time out beating a good yardstick of John Gosden's and he beat him comfortably.
"He got slightly boxed in that day and he is a horse who takes around a furlong to get going and hit top stride.
"He didn't do that until the furlong marker really and he was running away at the end.
LATEST IN HORSE RACING
"If he had got rolling earlier he would have been much more impressive.
"He is a lovely horse and he is definitely one for the future.
"We have missed a couple of engagements with him because of firm ground, so the ground at Doncaster should be ideal.
"I'm very happy with him, we think he is a high-class animal and one we regard very, very highly.
"He is very much a galloper rather than a speed horse, but he is a very good galloper. At the minute PJ McDonald is pencilled in for the ride."
Victory in the final Group 1 race of the season would be Burke's sixth top-flight win of the year.
Four of those Group 1 wins have come courtesy of Laurens, who was below her best in the QEII at the weekend, but Burke confirmed that she will race on next year.
Burke said: "She showed no sign of (tiredness) before Ascot but it took that final race for us to find that out.
"She has come out the QEII fine, PJ wasn't hard on her once he knew she wasn't going to win.
"She stays in training next year which is obviously great news for us."