Baraqiel may yet return to racing before the current season wraps up, with co-trainer Will Larkin pleasantly surprised by the sprinter’s swift progress following a suspensory injury.

The Group 2-winning galloper had stamped himself as a rising force in the sprinting ranks with a powerful win in the McEwen Stakes (1200m) last October. However, his most recent run came in the inaugural The Meteorite (1200m) at Cranbourne, where he finished third as favourite before pulling up sore.

Larkin, who trains alongside Leon and Troy Corstens, said the moment of injury was clearly visible in the race replay.

“Going back to the replay, you can see halfway down the straight, he put in a bad stride,” Larkin said.

“He pulled up very sore after that run and sure enough, the scans confirmed he did a suspensory.”

Initially uncertain if Baraqiel would return to the races, the Malua Racing team has been impressed by the six-time winner’s recovery. He recently finished fourth in a soft jump out at Werribee over 800m on July 4.

“He was just there for a soft one for his first one back off a long break, didn’t do a lot, but he’s still excellent,” Larkin said.

“He’s really good. He’s been kind of slow building since January so he’s been in work a long time.

“The way our program works, they come in and come out, into work and out of work. He’s coming along really well. He hasn’t had an unsound day this preparation touch wood so far.

“It’s all about building him up to another trial and then hopefully back to the races.”

That return might come sooner than expected after Baraqiel handled his recent hitout better than anticipated.

“I reckon he was pretty fit. He didn’t have much of a blow, which surprised me,” Larkin said.

“We’ll probably give him one more and just see where he’s at.

“We’ve got a circle around the Bletchingly first up, but he’ll certainly have one more trial.”

The Group 3 Bletchingly Stakes (1200m) is set to take place at Caulfield on July 26, the final Saturday of the 2024/25 racing season.

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