William Muir is excited as Ebt’s Guard aims to successfully defend his crown at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot on Saturday.
A half-length winner in the concluding Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Mile at this meeting 12 months ago Muir, who trains in partnership with Chris Grassick, even thinks he can handle the leap into Pattern company.
“He’s unbelievable, he never knows how to run a bad race,” Muir said on Sky Sports Racing. “Unfortunately at Goodwood, we were drawn low, which is great, but once a cutaway was taken away, we didn’t get a run.
“He finished second in the Goodwood race last year (before winning at Ascot), but he’s a horse that you cannot get away from.
“He goes on any ground, any track, so you never worry when you go to the races. He always goes to the races and produces the goods.
“He started off in the 70s, he’s now 104 and he’s running in these races. So after this race, I am going to step him up and give him a go in the black type race, because I think running off nearly top weight in all of these every time is quite a hard thing to do.
“I’ve put him in the Celebration Mile at Goodwood, it’s a big jump. We are going from handicaps to a Group Two, but I’ve seen that race over the years come in with a small field.
“I think it’d be nice to give a go in a race where there’s not 25 runners and you’ve got to fish your way through everything. I just thought let’s have a go, we had a chat and we put him in it.
“I think he’s at an age now where the owner can get some enjoyment out of him.”
Linkslade Stables has another arrow in the penultimate Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Classic with Blue Hercules, who was last seen going down by a neck over course and distance to Tryfan.
“Last time was a really good run and we actually took him to the Royal meeting and fancied him, but the horses were so out of form and when he went back to Ascot that is what we believed he could have done,” Muir said.
“He’s in really good shape now and hopefully he can go there and improve again. He’s a horse that will improve and will get better. I think this time next year he could be a really smart individual.
“He doesn’t mind this ground at all but I get this feeling when he gets cut in the ground he may even be better.”
Muir is an advocate of the team competition, which will see top jockeys such as Ryan Moore, Dylan Browne McMonagle and Saffie Osborne line up for Great Britain and Ireland.
He said: “I’m really looking forward to it and I quite enjoy the meeting actually.
“There’s a good atmosphere, it’s always good fun and it’s great prize-money, which is why I think it attracts so many people that like to go there.”