Al Qareem will not be the best horse lining up for what promises to be a particularly competitive Weatherbys Lonsdale Cup on Friday, but there would surely be no more popular winner of the £250,000 Group 2 among the Yorkshire crowd than Nick Bradley Racing’s died-in-the-wool front runner, who simply refuses to give up. 

The early betting for the Weatherbys Lonsdale Cup is understandably dominated by the seven-length Gold Cup winner Trawlerman, who is head and shoulders clear of the rest on ratings with a BHA figure of 121. Trawlerman left several of his potential York rivals trailing well behind him at Ascot, among them runner-up Illinois, Dubai Future, Sweet William and Coltrane, the 2023 Lonsdale winner, but whether the Godolphin stayer will be quite so happy over a shorter trip on likely fast ground remains to be seen.

Illinois got the better of Al Qareem at Chester in May and can be expected to be more effective over Friday’s two miles than over the Gold Cup’s two and a half, but he has had another hardish race since when second again in the Goodwood Cup and Aidan O’Brien has left himself the option of running the improving three-year-old Shackleton in his place.

The field could also include last year’s shock runner-up Al Nayyir, who has confirmed his running that day was no fluke with further classy efforts, but any horse that beats Al Qareem will know they have been in a race.

Al Qareem has worked his way up the ranks and compiled an impressive CV that boasts eight stakes wins among 10 in total, among them a Group 2 Prix Chaudenay, and Group 3 wins in two Cumberland Lodges and most recently York’s John Smith’s Silver Cup. His rating of 114 leaves him with improvement to find still, but he once came again to get the better of subsequent Arc winner Bluestocking at Chester, and that Silver Cup victory once again exemplified many of the key attributes which we have come to admire so much.

Having dictated the pace as usual that day the six-year-old looked sure to be swallowed up approaching the two-furlong marker when challenged on both sides, but one by one he saw off the challenges of Onesmoothoperator, Tabletalk and finally Samui before powering home two and a half lengths clear. As commentator Mark Johnson said, Al Qareem simply ran the field into submission.

Nobody knows Al Qareem better than Clifford Lee, who has partnered him to seven wins from 20 rides and had little hesitation in placing him among the top 5 horses he has been lucky enough to ride in his thriving association with the ever-improving Karl Burke team.

“He can be very keen at the races, but when you ask him for more he’ll keep on finding for you,” he says. “There’s nearly always a stage where he looks beat, but he’s got such a genuine mind that he’ll never give up. He almost has a wooden head on him, as there’s not a bother on him. He just keeps going, and keeps finding.

“He loves York and I think he’s won three out of five there, including a Listed race before the Silver Cup and a good handicap as a three-year-old. It’s a big galloping track and it suits him well, and every time he wins there are always loads of Nick Bradley owners to greet him, and they obviously love him.”

Al Qareem has yet to score over the full two miles of the Lonsdale, and his effectiveness over the mile-and-a-half of Ascot’s Cumberland Lodge might suggest there’s a question mark over his stamina. However, he won his Group 2 in France over a mile and seven in testing ground as a three-year-old and Lee is not worried about Fridays’ trip.

He says: “He’s starting to relax a lot better than he used to and two miles at York won’t be a problem. When we tried him at the trip in the Goodwood Cup a couple of years ago he was way too keen and didn’t get home, but now that he’s settling better we think he’ll stay.”

While Al Qareem is in the form of his life, so too is his jockey, whose win on First Ambition at Southwell on Sunday took his score this year to 68 - well within sight of his previous best of 84, and realistically on course for a first century. 

The vast majority of those winners have been for Burke, with Royal Champion, Liberty Lane, Marshman and Thunder Run joining Al Qareem among the older horses who are more than paying their way, while last month’s unbeaten Duchess Of Cambridge winner Venetian Sun is currently heading a star-studded juvenile department. However, Lee has also developed a strong association with James Tate, and last month he made the most of a great opportunity for William Haggas on rising star Almeraq.

He says: “It’s been going great. Every year I’m aiming for 100, and to beat my previous best in terms of total winners and prize money, and I’m on target for both at the moment. It’s fabulous at Karl’s. He’s been great tome for a very long time and he’s put me on some very good horses. I’m riding better horses in bigger races all of the time, and I just have to grab every opportunity with both hands.”

Partnering Al Qareem in the Group 2 Weatherbys Lonsdale Cup is just such an opportunity.