Arlington Million international scouting report: Mekhtaal

Mekhtaal has the resume of a highly-regarded type who’s come up shy of the pinnacle so far, but the Arlington Million (G1) could be just the spot for a breakout performance.

Owned by Sheikh Joaan of Qatar’s Al Shaqab Racing, best known for campaigning Treve but also successful with the likes of Mshawish, Ectot, and Sandiva on this side of the pond, Mekhtaal represents an emerging rival to Godolphin and Coolmore on the world stage.

Trainer Jean-Claude Rouget may not be as familiar a name to U.S. racing fans, but he perennially tops the French standings (by number of wins), and his stars include last year’s European champion three-year-old colt Almanzor and current dual classic winner Brametot. Rouget has invaded America in the past, most memorably plundering the 1995 Man o’ War (G1) with Millkom and taking Arlington’s American Derby (G2) the same year with Gold and Steel. Within the past decade, he registered placings in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1) with Behkabad and Keeneland’s Queen Elizabeth II (G1) with Zagora, Stacelita was a tough-beat third in the 2011 United Nations (G1), and last fall, Apple Betty was a nose away from giving him his first U.S. graded win in 12 years in the Dowager (G3).

A €300,000 Arqana August yearling, Mekhtaal is a well-bred son of the great Sea the Stars. The flashy chestnut is a half-brother to four stakes performers, led by Group 2 winner Democrate and multiple Grade 3 vixen Aigue Marine (also a course record-setter at about 1 3/8 miles at Delaware). Their dam, the Group 3-winning Silver Hawk mare Aiglonne, is herself a three-quarter sister to Group 1 queen Germance (a past Rouget trainee), from the further family of multiple highweight White Muzzle and 1999 Dubai World Cup (G1) star Almutawakel.

With that pedigree, Mekhtaal promised to thrive with maturity, and he accordingly didn’t make it to the races as a juvenile. He must have shown plenty in his early training, however, to be given a syllabus of fancy entries.

Unveiled in a 1 1/4-mile maiden at Saint-Cloud, Mekhtaal stormed from well off the pace, despite the heavy going, to win snugly as the favorite. Although it’s not wise to over-interpret maiden form at such a long remove, it’s interesting to note that the third-placer was fellow Al Shaqab colorbearer Heshem, who went on to win three straight, including the Prix Eugene Adam (G2). Heshem finished the year with a second in the Prix Dollar (G2), and nearly upset the March 25 Dubai Turf (G1) at big odds.

Mekhtaal’s imperious march to the classics was knocked sideways when he was beaten next time at 3-5 in a Maisons-Laffitte conditions race. That’s not just a metaphor, since he buckled out of the gate, literally lurched starboard, and collided with a rival. Rouget reported that the colt was off kilter the rest of the way, putting into perspective his workmanlike second to a pacesetting winner.

Pressing on to a classic trial in the Prix d’Hocquart (G2), Mekhtaal rebounded as though he’d been stewing in his box for a month over that loss. He secured the early lead and pummeled them senseless in the stretch to romp by six.

 

His Hocquart display made him one of the top contenders for the French Derby (G1). In hindsight, it’s remarkable that Mekhtaal was the 9-2 second choice, by far the preferred of Rouget’s pair. The other, overlooked at 20-1, was none other than the victorious Almanzor, who became a revelation from this point forward. Mekhtaal, held up at the rear from post 15, never got involved under considerate handling in eighth. It was later reported that the decibel level of the pre-race music rattled him.