Saeed bin Suroor remains confident Elwateen can make her mark at the highest level next season despite being unable to test her credentials in Pattern company before the end of the current campaign.
The Shadwell-owned daughter of Dubawi created a very taking impression when striking at Kempton on debut, showing plenty of class and a willing attitude to repel subsequent scorer Orchid.
What made the performance even more impressive was Bin Suroor’s insistence that she was not fully wound up for her first outing, suggesting an immediate step up in company at the back-end of the season.
Elwateen ultimately missed those high-ranking end-of-year assignments with a persistent setback, but Bin Suroor is extremely optimistic the talented filly can justify his lofty opinion next term.
“She was fine after Kempton, but she has been coughing for a long time and to be honest, even before she ran she had this problem,” explained Bin Suroor.
“We treated her for it and she went and won well and when she came back, she was coughing again. We got close to running again, but I said ‘OK let’s stop and have a break over the winter’ and I will find her a race next spring before maybe running her in the Guineas if she is good enough.
“The way she trains and with her pedigree, she should be a nice filly. She’s a strong, tough filly and when she ran at Kempton she was only 80-85 per cent fit – that shows her class.
“I definitely think she’s a Group filly and it would be great to give her a chance in some big races as well.”
Elwateen can be backed at 50/1 with Paddy Power for the 1000 Guineas, while she is a 66/1 chance with the same firm for the Oaks at Epsom.
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