Ado McGuinness has reflected on a very profitable weekend overseas, which saw Bowerman win in Qatar and Saltonstall pick up some big prize money in Saudi Arabia.
The seven-year-old Bowerman overcame a wide draw to win the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup in Doha, beating the ex-Brian Meehan inmate Dominus in a race worth over £80,000 to the winner.
McGuinness will now look at all the major races over a mile in Europe, with a Group Three win already in the locker.
“We were very happy. I thought he’d run a massive race and he did, but he had plenty against him. He had to do all the travelling and was drawn out wide on a tight track, so it’s great for everybody involved,” said McGuinness.
“He’s lightly-raced. He’s not the easiest to train, but he’s still improving. We felt he was the class horse in the race, so we had to go and we got proved right.
“We’ll get him home and freshen him up. He’s not a soft ground horse. We were thinking of getting him qualified for All-Weather Finals Day, but it was one or the other.
“He’s a dude of a horse, a lovely horse to train and we’re lucky to have him.”
Bowerman could step up to 10 furlongs, but McGuinness has Saltonstall – who was fourth behind Willie Mullins’ True Self in Saudi Arabia – for those races.
“We could think about the Tattersalls Gold Cup (for Bowerman), but I think a fast-run mile really suits. There’s a lot of money to be picked up pot hunting in the big races. Saltonstall won plenty for coming fourth in Saudi,” said McGuinness, who also took Harry’s Bar to Riyadh.
“Harry’s Bar just didn’t like the dirt. I thought he would, but they go so fast in those races and he didn’t enjoy the kickback. We’ll try to qualify him for the All-Weather Finals, but our programme in Ireland doesn’t make that easy. He’s rated a bit lower on the grass, which is an option for Ascot and the like.”
