Ozzie Kheir and Mat Becker buy Caulfield Cup placegetter Enfjaar for Freedman stable
Caulfield Cup third placegetter Enfjaar has been bought by Ozzie Kheir and Mat Becker and will stay in Victoria under Anthony and Sam Freedman, with his new owners planning to campaign him over shorter trips after his Melbourne Cup run.
“Enfjaar now joins the stable of Freedman Racing (Anthony and Sam), targeting Group 1 races between 2000-2400m. We can’t wait to see what’s next,” Becker, the founder of Group 1 Bloodstock, said in announcing the purchase.
Formerly trained in Britain by Roger Varian, the Lope de Vega gelding won the Group 3 Glorious Stakes over 2412 metres at Goodwood on August 1, which earned him a ballot exemption for the Caulfield Cup.
On his Australian debut at Caulfield on October 17, he finished a length behind Kingswood and ahead of subsequent Cox Plate winner Cosmic Crusader.
His first attempt at 3200 metres in the Melbourne Cup on November 3 ended in 15th place. “They went way too slow for us and we struggled to get into it,” jockey Ray Dawson said after the race.
Enfjaar is the latest European stayer bought through Becker for Kheir’s operation. His previous owners, Tristan and Leanne Standish, bought him before his Goodwood win.
