'He's thriving and there's a lot in his favour' - Daniel and Claire Kubler relishing $1 million Bahrain date with Astro King

An electric piece of work on Tuesday morning means Daniel Kubler is optimistic about the chances of Cambridgeshire winner Astro King in the $1 million Bahrain International Trophy this month.

Lambourn-based Kubler and his wife Claire have enjoyed a fine time of things this season with the six-year-old, who was second in the John Smith's Cup before winning a valuable handicap at York's Ebor meeting and triumphing off top weight in the Cambridgeshire.

He heads out to Bahrain next week in advance of the contest on November 17, and Kubler said: "It's the most valuable race we've participated in. Before the Cambridgeshire we wondered if this would be an option, but we really needed to win at Newmarket to get a rating to get into the race, and it looks a good option.

"He'll get quick ground, it's ten furlongs and there's a lot in his favour. It seems a logical step and beats running in a £50,000 Listed race at Lingfield!"

Astro King, bought for 36,000gns out of Sir Michael Stoute's yard a year ago, will be ridden by Richard Kingscote, the go-to jockey for the Kublers.

"It's good Richard can ride as he's ridden out there a few times and knows the track well," the trainer added.

"You'd like to think the horse would take to the travelling okay, but you never know until you do it. He's quite a laid-back character. One day, on the way back from the John Smith's Cup, he did pull a shoe off in the box, which was a bit of a scare, but he's been fine since, so I think it was just a one-off. 

Daniel and Claire Kubler: set to target big pot in BahrainCredit: Edward Whitaker

"We've got some special, expensive padded boots we've been using for the last couple of runs and have had no problems."

Rated 99 on his first start for his new connections Capture The Moment, Carter & Lofthouse, Astro King now has a mark of 112 following his latest success.

Kubler said: "It's difficult when you don't know what the horse was doing before and we knew we had something in the spring, but he worked on Tuesday morning and it was the fastest time he's worked over that distance, so he's still thriving. 

"It's like the more he's done, the more confident he's got. I suspect he lost his confidence a bit and he's probably enjoying being the best horse in the yard, whereas perhaps before he wasn't at the top of the pecking order.

"It's easy to say after, but in the Cambridgeshire it never really looked like he was under pressure. I know we sat off the strong pace, but he travelled through it, got to the front and kept finding. I know people will argue Greek Order [the Harry and Roger Charlton-trained favourite] was stuck in a pocket, but I think we were going away at the line. 

"He hadn't won for a while, so maybe people were questioning if he was putting it all in, but I think getting some confidence and stepping up in trip has helped."

Read these next:

'This means a lot' - delight for Kublers as Astro King carries topweight to Cambridgeshire success 

'A complete dilemma' - Kublers mull big Hong Kong offers for stable star Outgate 

'I'm not leaving' - George Baker puts Surrey yard on market as Bahrain's riches become the main attraction 

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