Battaash digs deep to produce ‘best run of career’
Battaash did not break the track record, did not win by a wide margin and absolutely did not enjoy it, but he rolled up his sleeves and knuckled down to win a second Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes yesterday – a performance trainer Charlie Hills described as “the best run of his career”.
Brilliance in a racehorse is not always twinned with a lust for battle and hitherto Battaash’s modus operandi has been to win his races by halfway with blistering speed rather than get involved in a slog at the business end.
Yesterday, however, he had a real fight on his hands.
Que Amoro, the northerntrained filly whose claim to fame now must be that she is the only horse fast enough to have led Battaash for any length of time in a race this season, set off like a rocket and at halfway Battaash came off the bridle and he was still a length down on the filly a furlong out, but he put his head down and battled past to win by a length. Moss Gill was two lengths back in third with A’ali fourth.
Despite the conditions, little Art Power, put up as the young pretender, was not quick enough over five, was the first beaten and will return to six furlongs next time.
In the early part of his career Battaash was often his own worst enemy. In the old days, yesterday’s wind alone would have been enough to set him off, but he is now the complete package – and kind, too.
In the paddock he walks the pace of his elderly and lame lad, Bob Grace, rather than the other way round. In the stable Battaash lifts his feet higher to make it easier for Grace, who does not find it so easy to bend down these days, to pick out his hooves.
It is a touching relationship between man and beast which is clearly a huge contributory factor to the horse’s success.
“He really stuck his head down,” said jockey Jim Crowley, who was completing a four-timer for Sheikh Hamdan, having also won the first three races on Alfaatik, Enbihaar and Minzaal.
“He tried very hard. There was a strong tail/cross wind blowing us to the stand side, we went very hard and, fair play to the second, she ran a mighty race. But he’s a horse of a lifetime, you only get one like that in a career.”
Hills said: “He had to tough it out today. There was a massive wind dragging them over to the stand side and it wasn’t easy. He’s been beaten twice here before in that sort of ground as a three and four-year-old.
“He’s growing up and his experience got him home today. I’m so proud of him, he had to knuckle down and the conditions weren’t with him. The Abbaye is the obvious route now – unless it’s heavy.”
If spectators were allowed to attend, it would be today’s Sky Bet Ebor Handicap which they would be coming to see and victory could go to Roger Varian’s lightly raced Fujaira Prince, a 3¾-length winner of the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot.