Cuban Tiger (3/1) came out on top following a pulsating battle with Sayedaty Sadaty (6/1) in the Listed BetMGM Burradon Stakes, the opening race on Finals Day at Newcastle.
A debut winner at Southwell in January, the Karl Burke-trained Cuban Tiger had also shown promise when chasing home Notable Speech in a valuable Kempton Park conditions race in February.
Sayedaty Sadaty led the eight runners for much of the mile feature for three-year-olds and responded for Oisin Murphy when Habrdi headed Andrew Balding’s runner entering the final quarter-mile.
Cuban Tiger joined in approaching the final furlong and went on with Sayedaty Sadaty soon after. The front two fought all the way to the line, with Clifford Lee galvanizing Cuban Tiger for a neck success. G3 winner Orne (5/2F) kept on in third under a penalty, a further three lengths back.
Karl Burke said: “Coming into the race, the Godolphin horse [Silent Age] looked pretty strong, but he fluffed the start a bit and I don’t know what happened there.
“I knew we had a horse in Cuban Tiger that was better than his rating of 87, it was just a question of how good we were. He is an honest horse, very kind, and has a great temperament.
“He loves that surface; he’s a good-moving horse and I don’t think he’d want soft ground. He might get more than a mile as he does have stamina on the dam side, but I don’t think he really needs to stay more than a mile.
“We knew he’d stay seven [furlongs] but equally there weren’t many seven-furlong races around, which is why we ran him over six to start with. Then I think we were beaten by a really good horse [Notable Speech] of Charlie Appleby’s at Kempton – I know William Buick really likes him.
“We will sit and wait now, and have a word with his owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid about where we go next. We have a big team of three-year-olds and there is some really nice stuff there. Hopefully, they will all stay in one piece.”
Clifford Lee said: “That was very good. Cuban Tiger travelled well and I thought we went an even gallop. I felt that I had a bit more horse underneath me to wheel him out and get there.
“He’s still a bit green – a big baby – but is game enough and tries hard. He will improve off that again. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did get a mile and a quarter in time but, for now, a mile is his trip.”
Oisin Murphy said of the runner-up: “It was a very good run. Sayedaty Sadaty hasn’t run in a while. I think hopefully the form of this race will stack up, it normally does. It is a shame to get beaten, but we will keep trying.”
Orne’s rider Robert Havlin said: “Orne travelled nicely. I got him out in daylight but, just as the last three times, he hit a flat spot and stayed on once it's all over!”
