Hoo beauty! Boughey bids for Classic double
THE Cazoo St Leger might be one of the most exacting tests of stamina in the Flat racing calendar and it could be won by a trainer who is conducting his career at a sprint.
If Hoo Ya Mal can land the rescheduled final Classic of the season at Doncaster tomorrow on what will be a poignant day’s racing following the death of the Queen, it will be a second Classic victory of the season for George Boughey after his victory in the 1,000 Guineas in May with Cachet.
The Newmarket-based trainer also landed his first wins at Royal Ascot this summer, thanks to Missed The Cut (Golden Gate Stakes) and Inver Park (Buckingham Palace Stakes) and it is long odds-on that he will secure the 16 more wins he needs to reach 100 successes in a season in only the third full year of his career.
In between inspecting yearlings and potential new recruits at the Tattersall Sales complex in Newmarket this week, Boughey said: ‘My plan this year was just to
have a Group Two winner, having had a Group Three winner last year.
‘To have a Classic winner so early was great. It is something I would not even have dreamt of two years ago. It was a distant hope. I don’t think that would have even been in the 10-year plan!
‘We started with three modest horses three years ago and after winning a Classic I could die happy if I stopped training tomorrow. Winning Royal Ascot handicaps is also very hard.
‘My only plan was to try to have 100 winners because we have had more horses. We still have a lot of nice two-year- olds which haven’t been seen yet and my ethos has always been winners lead to better horses.’
Boughey is part of a new generation making their mark in Flat racing’s HQ alongside James Ferguson, Charlie Fellowes and
Harry Eustace, but he the one making the most waves.
He is assured of a top-20 finish in the Flat trainer championship and his prizemoney haul of £1.5million — closing in on double his 2021 tally — will soar within touch of the £2m mark if Hoo Ya Mal can land the £450,000 St Leger first prize.
Even if Hoo Ya Mal wins, it will be his third and last run for Boughey before he emigrates to Australia with the Melbourne Cup in his sights.
The colt, who finished second in the Derby at Epsom when trained by Andrew Balding, was sold for £1.2m to an Aussie syndicate which includes well-known Australian trainer Gai Waterhouse.
Part of Boughey’s training apprenticeship was served with Waterhouse, who will be Hoo Ya Mal’s trainer when he lines-up in the Melbourne Cup.
Before then Boughey is hopeful
Hoo Ya Mal can secure tomorrow’s historic prize.
To do that he must overcome the two-length gap between him and odds- on favourite New London when the met in the Gordon Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
But Boughey has reasons to believe that can happen and is also buoyed by David Probert’s mount proving his stamina when winning the mile-and-three-quarter March Stakes at Goodwood on his last start.
Boughey said: ‘Ryan (Moore) lost his whip before the final furlong in the Gordon Stakes. He was pretty sure he would have finished closer if that hadn’t happened. It was a very creditable run.
‘ He then stepped forward massively when winning the March Stakes. It was an easier race but he settled well and hit the line strongly over one mile six furlongs on goodto-soft ground.
‘He was keen in his races but he is doing everything the right way round now, enabling himself to stay by being more relaxed. Physically he has changed since we got him. He is a different animal now.
‘He got a very good ride in the Derby from David Probert which was a big part in my decision of wanting him again to ride in the St Leger.
‘New London has never run over 14-and-a-half furlongs and Hoo Ya Mal has proven he will stay and the big galloping track will allow us to see the best of him.’