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New sprint ace sets up clash with Lady Aurelia
BATTAASH, the new Usain Bolt of the sprinting division, set up a mouth-watering clash with Lady Aurelia after blitzing home in the Qatar King George Stakes at Goodwood yesterday.
“Bring it on!,” said winning rider Jim Crowley about meeting Lady Aurelia in the Nunthorpe at York on August 25.
“I don’t think I’ve ridden a better sprinter. I rode him up the gallops 10 days ago and it was like riding a motorbike!
“It would be lovely to seal it with a first Group One for the boss (Hamdan Al Maktoum) in the Nunthorpe.”
Winning trainer Charlie Hills also has no reservations about taking on Lady Aurelia – the American sprint star.
He said: “It’s the obvious race for him and it’s something I’m looking forward to.”
Lady Aurelia is the 7-4 favourite for the Nunthorpe with Paddy Power and Battaash a 2-1 chance.
Tricky
Asked if Battaash is the fastest five-furlong horse in Europe, Hills said: “He’s very fast, a serious speedball. But he’s only won a Group Two today.
“He will be better on better ground and is really coming to himself now as he was a tricky customer last year.”
Profitable, who had finished runner-up behind Lady Aurelia in King’s Stand at Royal Ascot, ran another honourable race when chasing home Battaash.
Marsha, th ird in the King’s Stand, had to settle for the same place. She ran as her trainer Sir Mark Prescott predicted. “I thought that she (Marsha) and Profitable would finish within inches of one another,” said Prescott. “But the winner looked very good.”
Ryan Moore landed a 52-1 treble in the first three races. He rode Andrew Balding’s Beat The Bank to victory in the Bonhams Stakes.
Balding hopes to continue his winning run with Donjuan Triumphant in today’s Qatar Stewards’ Cup.
Opened
“He will like the ground,” said Balding, who won last year’s race with Dancing Star. “He’s in good form, we’ve only had him for four or five months.”