BATTAASH SETS OUT TO MAKE IT A GOOD TIME FOR CHARLIE

Charlie hills has trained three royal ascot winners but it is three not officially credited to him in 2009 which still give him most satisfaction.

The victories of Ouqba (Jersey stakes), Giganticus (Buckingham Palace stakes) and, particularly, 1,000 Guineas winner Ghanaati clinching the Coronation stakes, were Charlie directing the operation while his trainer father Barry battled a life-threatening blood disorder.

it made for memorable scenes in the royal ascot winners’ enclosure. hills said: ‘it was emotional. Dad came out of hospital the day Ghanaati won. i probably did feel more pressure, especially with her after she had won the 1,000 Guineas.

‘There was a moment we thought we might have undercooked her so we had to take her to Newbury to give her a nice piece of work the sunday before. To be presented with the prize by the Queen on the saturday was special. it was my most satisfying moment and it was great to come back and gave dad the trophy.’

since that special season, hills (right) has assumed full-time command of the lambourn stable built by his father and also used royal ascot as the launch pad of Muhaarar’s march to become europe’s champion sprinter in 2015 with his blistering win in the Commonwealth Cup

But there is a chance, if results go his way, 2018 could edge its way to the top of the Charlie Hills’ list of favourite royal meetings. Hopes are high that inexperienced but exciting Equilateral will make his mark in Friday’s Commonwealth Cup while Afaak is favourite for tomorrow's Royal Hunt Cup.

There is also a clutch of eye-catching two-year- olds — Glory Fighter (Norfolk Stakes), who broke the track record at Lingfield, Mutawaffer (Windsor Castle Stakes) and Pogo who runs in this afternoon’s Conventry Stakes. But the team leader is undoubtedly Battaash. The uncoiled

spring of a racehorse, an unexploded bomb of a gelding who could detonate before he runs. If jockey Jim Crowley can get to the stalls without Battaash boiling over, he could produce one of the performances of the week up against equally speedy US-trained 2017 race winner Lady Aurelia.

But if Battaash blows up it will be a damp squib. We have seen it before. The son of Dark Angel was a sweating, nervous wreck before last year’s Nunthorpe Stakes at York and trailed in five and a half lengths behind her and winner Marsha.

Hills said: ‘He is a challenge to train and very different from Muhaarar, who had an amazing temperament. You felt confident because he never gave you a chance to have a worry. He was your perfect pupil whereas Battaash has an amazing talent but would always be in the headmaster’s office being told he could do better! He is also a very exciting horse to train. In his work Battaash seems to go twice as fast as any other horse. He is definitely the fastest we’ve had.’

Racegoers, Hills says, only have to watch Battaash to know whether to back him.

‘He wears his heart on his sleeve at the races and is very hard on himself. You need to keep him as quiet as possible,’ the trainer said. If he can keep calm today, Hills’ satisfaction levels will understandably shoot off the scale.