TWO-year-old colt Wednaan made a winning debut for Mike de Kock’s UK stable in a 1200m contest at Yarmouth on Thursday.

The strapping colt, who cost 450,000 euros, was all the rage in the betting as 11/8 favourite for the British Stallion Studs EBF Sprint Maiden Stakes.

It took a while for Pat Cosgrave to get Wednaan into his stride, but he came smoothly through the middle of the field and held off the challenge of Silver Treasure by three-quarters of a length.

Wednaan as a yearling.

Assistant trainer Steven Jell commented: “Wednaan is a nice horse. He’ll go to Dubai now, I doubt he’ll run again, and he could be our (UAE) Guineas horse in Dubai next year. He was very green, and I thought that might get him beat.”

Mike paid tribute to his UK team and said: “Steven has always done a great job. Thanks also to my bloodstock team, Jehan Malherbe and Dr John McVeigh, who in my absence bought Wednaan at Arqana Sale in France for Sheik Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum. The Sheikh has put his money down again and deserves every bit of success. This is a smart sort and we’re excited about his future.”

Wednaan is a bay by Dubawi from Marine Bleue, by Desert Prince.