Roger Varian says that Sallaal will now move up in grade after bolting up in the Nifty Fifty Handicap at Epsom on Friday.
Salaal Wins Nifty Fifty By 6 1/2 Lengths
It looks like we may have seen a Group horse in a handicap on Friday at Epsom as Salaal absolutely bolted up in the Nifty Fifty.
Roger Varian’s charge was an easy winner after travelling smoothly throughout and it was a fantastic ride from Ray Dawson.
The son of Frankel should have probably won the last day at Epsom where he came from way back to finish second.
However, he made up for it with a breathtaking performance. You can watch it below.
WATCH: Salaal Wins Nifty Fifty Handicap At Epsom
Sallaal came through and they had NO ANSWER! 🤯
What an impressive victory for Ray Dawson & Roger Varian in the Betfred ‘Nifty 50’ Handicap pic.twitter.com/oN9KtagEL3
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 5, 2026
Trainer Varian was speaking after the race with joy:
“He’ll have to be going up to Pattern races next and he’ll get a heck of a rise after today. We’ve always thought he was a stakes horse and he hadn’t quite put it together, but he has now.
“He’s a good watch and everyone said he should have won last time, and he probably should have done, but I think his last run made him today.”
With four wins now from eight starts, the four-year-old remains lightly raced and unexposed. He’s versatile ground-wise considering he’s won on both soft and good, so there’s plenty of options moving forward.
The Nifty Fifty is also a race Varian loves to target his horses at. Sallaal’s win was a fourth in the race for the stable.
He currently holds an entry in the Group 3 Dubai Duty Free International Stakes at the Curragh. That race takes place on 28th June and is over 1m2f, so could be perfect.
With Royal Ascot likely to come too soon, it’s possible that he’ll have a few weeks off now before his next assignment.
