Baraqiel could well race again before the season is finished, with the Group 2 winning sprinter surprising co-trainer Will Larkin with his recovery from a suspensory issue.
Flagged as one of the up-and-coming stars of the sprinting ranks after his dominant win in the Group 2 McEwen Stakes (1200m) in October last year, Baraqiel finished third as favourite in the inaugural The Meteorite (1200m) at Cranbourne when last seen.
Larkin, who trains in partnership with Leon & Troy Corstens, said you could pinpoint the moment that the sparingly raced six-year-old injured himself in that run.
“Going back to the replay, you can see halfway down the straight, he put in a bad stride,” Larkin said.
“He pulled up very sore after that run and sure enough, the scans confirmed he did a suspensory.”
While initially unsure of when, if ever, Baraqiel would return to racing, the Malua Racing team have been delighted with how well the six-time winner has recovered, finishing fourth under a hold in a Werribee jump out over 800m on July 4.
“He was just there for a soft one for his first one back off a long break, didn’t do a lot, but he’s still excellent,” Larkin said.
“He’s really good. He’s been kind of slow building since January so he’s been in work a long time.
“The way our program works, they come in and come out, into work and out of work. He’s coming along really well. He hasn’t had an unsound day this preparation touch wood so far.
“It’s all about building him up to another trial and then hopefully back to the races.”
That return could be sooner than expected after Baraqiel pulled up surprisingly fit from his first jump out.
“I reckon he was pretty fit. He didn’t have much of a blow, which surprised me,” Larkin said.
“We’ll probably give him one more and just see where he’s at.
“We’ve got a circle around the Bletchingly first up, but he’ll certainly have one more trial.”
The Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) will be run on the final Saturday of the 2024/25 season at Caulfield on July 26.
