Cover image courtesy of Shadwell Stud
At about 2:33 on Tuesday, I have to admit I did feel a sense of relief when Baaeed crossed the line in front, because obviously during Ascot week everybody wants to have a winner and I suppose you could call us a new outfit, in that we have a new leader at the helm and it was particularly important to get her and her family a winner on the most important week of the year.
But of course there was added pressure with that particular horse, simply because he has captured the public's imagination, he’s unbeaten, he has a big following and all of the press are trying to make him out to be the next Frankel! So, however much you don’t want to feel it, there was a lot resting on it and it was particularly special to see him come out and win like that.
Angus Gold and Sheikh Hamdan | Image courtesy of Tattersalls
William (Haggas) is very much that type of trainer that will try to not talk a horse up if he can avoid it and he is absolutely right. I have learnt that most of the people that do are almost always left with egg on their faces and William would prefer to let the horse do the talking. On paper, he had beaten most of the horses he faced on Tuesday at some stage, but you just never know what is going to happen on the day. We thought he was in great form, but until you actually get to the track, you never quite know. It was hugely satisfying and it took the pressure off for the week.
It was incredibly sad Sheikh Hamdan wasn’t here, but we are very lucky to have Sheikha Hissa and she is so keen and she involves her family, so hopefully there is something to look forward going forward, so that’s why it is was so important to get her and her family a really good horse.
Sheikha Hissa leading in Baaeed (GB) following his win in the G1 Queen Anne S.
That started the week well and some people probably thought after seeing Baaeed he may have been the best performance of the week, but it turned out he probably wasn’t even the best performance of the day, all thanks to Chris Waller and Nature Strip.
For me, that was certainly the most impressive performance, certainly on Tuesday, if not the week until Inspiral won so impressively on Friday.
I thought it was spectacular to watch Nature Strip do that. Despite all my trips to Australia, I had never seen him before in the flesh and I had no idea what a physical beast he is. Also, I think for me and many others, it has been so nice having the Austalians back at Ascot, it feels like half of Australia is here and it has added to the atmosphere all week, which has been fantastic.
Nature Strip was impressive in the G1 King's Stand S. | Image courtesy of TAB
One always likes to see someone who is brave enough to bring their best horses halfway round the world do well. It is a huge task because it is in the winter down there, at the end of their season and a lot of things have to go right. Black Caviar didn’t travel particularly well and had a few hiccups along the way, but was still good enough to win. But with this fella, it is not often in a Group 1 sprint that you see a horse travel as smoothly as that and then kick clear and put four lengths on the field - it was simply electric and everyone, understandably got such a buzz out of it.
I, like so many people, am such an admirer of Chris Waller. I think everything he does, he does in a classy manner and for the benefit of racing. I am so thrilled he was able to come over here and get his horse to showcase his talents like that and my goodness he showcased the Australian sprinting talents on Tuesday, didn’t he?
Chris Waller overseeing Nature Strip and Home Affairs in their pre-race training in Lambourn | Image courtesy of Chris Waller Racing
That sort of performance is so important for international racing, because it shows it can be done. It is no secret that we don’t offer the same huge prizemoney as other jurisdictions, so we need people to buy into the traditions of British racing and I couldn’t have been more thrilled to see him come out and win like that and it will hopefully lure other top-class internationals to the meeting in the future.
Friday was another brilliant day. Obviously, on Thursday there was a lot of talk surrounding Frankie (Dettori) and his day at the races and I am not letting any secrets out by saying he had a horrible day at the office on Thursday, but that happens and you can’t undo what’s been done. Frankie, as everybody knows, is a real confidence man, so I am sure he wasn’t in great form last night to say the least and I felt very sorry for him and the team. But they bounced back on Friday with a filly who really does look exceptional and it was a brilliant training performance, to get a filly to perform like that on her first start of the year is amazing.
Inspiral (GB) and Frankie Dettori | Image courtesy of Ascot
For me, bar Dermot Weld’s filly Homeless Songs who won the Irish 1000 Guineas, she is the star we have been waiting for this season. I thought she was so dynamic and she just exploded away. It was great to see Frankie as he passed the line, I was looking at him through my binoculars, and he took a huge puff out of his cheeks, probably thinking: Thank The Lord for that! It was great to see him bounce back, because he is an unbelievable ambassador for the sport all around the world, he’s the person people come to see.
It will be interesting to see Home Affairs on Saturday, there is no doubt he is a top-class horse and I hope he is able to showcase his talents at Royal Ascot. I was lucky enough to see Artorius with Sam Freedman in Newmarket last week and he looked in great shape and hopefully he can run his race on Saturday and give them something to shout about. Having read various articles this week, they seem to think he will be well suited to the way we run our races over here and if I know Anthony Freedman like I think I do, he’s definitely not here to make up the numbers.
