The impeccably-bred Raaheeb enhanced his Derby credentials with an impressive return to action in the bet365 Classic Trial at Sandown.
The Sea The Stars colt has plenty to live up to as a full-brother to not only the brilliant Baaeed - winner of 10 of his 11 starts for William Haggas - but also the top-class Hukum, who was expertly guided by Raaheeb's trainer Owen Burrows to win the Coronation Cup and King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Raaheeb had looked to have inherited a good portion of the family ability when making a successful start to his career over seven furlongs at Ascot in early September and had little trouble stepping up markedly in both distance and class for his three-year-old debut in this 10-furlong Group Three.
While Aidan O'Brien's 4-6 favourite Action looked reluctant when coming under pressure and was ultimately disappointing, the Burrows runner travelled kindly throughout and found plenty once asked to go about his business by Rossa Ryan to pull three and a quarter lengths clear of the chasing pack, led by Al Zanati.
Burrows said: "To be honest I came here today thinking if we finished in the frame I would be pleased so to win like he did it's surprised me a little bit.
"Rossa said he took a blow half a furlong out, but I loved the way he got his head down and hit the line strong.
"He'll definitely stay and Rossa thought he quickened up again at the finish and hit the line strong. I would have no qualms going another couple of furlongs. We'll see how he comes out of this before we decide when we run again. He's in the Dante, but that could come a bit quick.
"If he had got beat today I wouldn't have been disappointed as long as he ran a nice race. It was a big learning curve today and we chucked him into the deep end because we wanted to know what's what and got a nice answer."
Bookmakers cut Raaheeb to 8-1 from 20s for the Derby, although Burrows is inclined to let the dust settle before making a firm decision.
He added: "I don't want to commit to Epsom at this stage and there's Ascot and then the Irish Derby, so we will have to see. I don't think I've had one as good as this three-year-old wise and not with his potential at this stage - he's better than Hukum was at this stage. It's exciting.
"The way he acted at the stalls (rearing) was a bit out of character and I'm hoping that was just a bit of freshness coming out of him because he's not shown that. That's there in the back of your mind when you're considering the Derby and would it me a smidgen too soon, but we'll wait and see.
"He's an important horse and we have to make sure we get it right. His brother got better at six so we don't want to do the wrong thing. He's probably better than Hukum was at this stage, but we need to get it right."
