“For those that know the mile and a quarter start at Ascot, the bend comes up very quickly and you are naturally forced wide”, he told The Racing Post.
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Elm Park set a quick pace with the field strung out behind nearly in single file after Gerald Mosse on Kodi Bear had barged Solow out of the way to sit on the tail of the leader.
He said that was his best win since the Queen Anne Stakes here at Royal Ascot. The 5-year-old gelded son of Singspiel out of High Maintenance (Highest Honor) is 12-for-17 lifetime.
“Maxime was very happy”.
Gleneagles remains a possible runner in the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland in two weeks’ time, though O’Brien suggested afterwards that he regretted the decision to run. “He’s been trained hard four times since his last run, which was far from ideal”, trainer Aidan O’Brien said.
The four-year-old’s trainer, French maestro Andre Fabre, suggested his charge bore all the hallmarks of a champion-in-waiting when landing a warm-up in Germany last month. Jack Hobbs seemed to pay the price in the closing stages as Fascinating Rock and Found, who was last early on, came through to finish first and second, with Fascinating Rock in particular stepping up significantly on previous form.
Dermot Weld saw six months of planning come to fruition after Fascinating Rock finally came of age in top-level company with victory in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot. Parts of it are good and parts of it are on the soft side of good.
He said: “Ryan (Moore) was delighted with her, she ran a great race”.
Irishman Weld, who became the first northern hemisphere trainer to win the race that “stops the nation”, as the Melbourne Cup is called, with Vintage Crop in 1993, watched on as Pat Smullen produced a devastating late burst down the inside rail to overhaul Gosden’s hot favourite Jack Hobbs. “He’s all about next year, he’s a big overgrown kid and I couldn’t be more thrilled with him today”. He is a tough miler with a lot of stamina and you don’t have to ride him to get it. He can go from a long way out and gallop on. “There are showers to the east of us and we may be unlucky and get one or we may miss them altogether, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens”. To me, it’s not a surprise.
Gleneagles was on the fence for Saturday’s race until race day because of concerns of the turf condition.
“We were fearless and this is a big day in English racing, much like Irish Champions weekend is in Irish racing so we took our chance here”. Doncaster was Doncaster, and it makes this all the sweeter.
Muharaar will retire to stud as an outstanding stallion prospect after his fourth Group One win of the year in the British Champions Sprint Stakes, while Flying Officer, in the opening Group Two Long Distance Cup, gave Gosden a victor on a day when his status as the record-breaking championship victor was confirmed.
Trainer David Elsworth, synonymous with legendary horses like Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Desert Orchid and champion stayer Persian Punch, is determined to show that this unexpected success was not a fluke.
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Simcock’s Madame Chiang will defend her Fillies and Mare Stakes crown, but comes up against Hugo Palmer’s highly-fancied Covert Love and Fanshawe’s Speedy Boarding.
