Does Roger Varian have another superstar ready to emerge this weekend?

Newbury clues

St Leger winner Eldar Eldarov will be a massive draw to Roger Varian's yard at the Newmarket Open Day on Sunday and there could be another Group winner to show off by then judging by the way the juvenile Sakheer shaped in his latest work on the Limekilns trial ground.

In the same KHK Racing ownership as the Classic hero, the Zoffany colt was a six-length winner at Haydock last time and is rivalling Persian Force at the head of the market for the Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury on Saturday, a race Varian won in 2019 with Pierre Lapin.

Sakheer (nearside) is in sparkling form for the Mill Reef

Jockeys galore

There were so many jockeys turning up to ride work for Varian on Wednesday that the car park opposite the Limekilns was full by 6.15am with the likes of Jim Crowley, Ray Dawson, David Egan, Jack Mitchell, Andrea Atzeni and Richard Hills all on the roster. The pick of these was El Drama (Atzeni), who is nearing a return from a year off, and Shadwell's filly Zanbaq (Mitchell).