Sajir strikes for master trainer Fabre on the Rowley Mile

Sajir landed a blow for France with an excellent display in the Blandford Bloodstock Abernant Stakes at Newmarket.

Trained by Andre Fabre, the Prince Faisal-owned colt was a winner at Chantilly on his first start of the year last month and having skipped a trip to Dubai for the Al Quoz Sprint, travelled to Newmarket to gauge his credentials in an open division.

Always travelling smartly in the hands of Oisin Murphy as Karl Burke’s Lethal Levi led a field of seven along, the champion jockey had to show patience as he waited for a gap to appear but soon put his match fitness to good use in the closing furlong.

Well backed as the 2-1 joint-favourite, Sajir finished half a length clear of Kevin Ryan’s fast-finishing stable newcomer Grand Grey, as Fabre registered his 26th success on the Rowley Mile.

Ted Voute, racing adviser to the owner, said: “This is a nice start to this season for him. He started like this last year and then he got an abscess in his near hind leg. It kept opening up during the season and he kept not quite firing, although he’d run well each time.

“After he won in France last month we wanted to go to Dubai for the Al Quoz, but we just didn’t feel he was battle-hardened enough. Andre came up with the plan of coming here and it would make a bit more of a man of him.

“We’ve had our eyes set on trying to make a stallion out of him at some point, either over six or seven furlongs, and Oisin said he wouldn’t be out of place in the six-furlong race at Ascot (Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes). From a stallion point of view that’s maybe where we ought to aim, but it will be decided by Prince Faisal and Andre.

“We’ve also got York we can look at (City of York Stakes), as long as we can convince Andre to leave Deauville alone!”