Battaash

It was fitting that Dark Angel's 100th stakes winner should have come in the Dick Hern S. at Haydock, a milestone which the ultra-reliable Yeomanstown Stud-based stallion reached thanks to the victory of the St. Albans Bloodstock home-bred filly Heredia (GB). Dick Hern, who sent out 16 British Classic winners including three winners of the Derby as well as his best horse Brigadier Gerard (GB), would have thoroughly approved of Dark Angel. Hern was an archetypal 'old-school' trainer who excelled with every type of horse. Late in his career he...

   A look back at the winners of Goodwood's King George S. illustrates how sprint lines permeate all areas of the breed, from fellow sprinters to Derby winners. The win of Khaadem (Ire) in the G2 King George S. at the Qatar 'Glorious' Goodwood Festival has further enhanced the great record in the race of his trainer Charlie Hills, who has now saddled the winner in five of the past six years. Hills has, of course, been helped by having had the mighty Battaash (Ire) under his care, that great...

Shadwell's Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) began his impressive ascent to the top of the sprinting tree in the 2017 edition of the G2 King George Qatar S. and in all his return Goodwood visits he has been unflinching and unbeatable. He returns to the race he has made his own in search of a glorious five-timer on Friday and after Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) was forced out of a similar bid on Tuesday the onus is firmly on him. Immaculate last term with his three starts culminating...

Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) has exited his fourth-place finish in last week's G1 King's Stand S. in good form and is on course to attempt a fifth straight win in Goodwood's G2 King George S. on July 30. The 7-year-old gelding was making his first run since last summer when folding in the late stages after attending a hot pace in the King's Stand. "He's come out of the race really well actually, he's been cantering away this week and we're really pleased with him," said trainer Charlie Hills....

Four weeks after warning that Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) may miss the chance to defend his title in the G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot, trainer Charlie Hills issued an upbeat bulletin on the 7-year-old gelding on Thursday, saying "at the moment there's no reason why he wouldn't make it [to Ascot]." Battaash won all three starts last year, taking a fourth consecutive G2 King George S. and a second G1 Nunthorpe S. in addition to the King's Stand, but the Shadwell colourbearer picked up a minor fracture...

Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire})'s bid to defend his G1 King's Stand S. title could be in jeopardy, with the 7-year-old's return to trainer Charlie Hills's yard delayed after he picked up an injury while wintering at Shadwell. Battaash sustained a small fracture over the winter, however he is back cantering and is expected to return to Hills in a matter of weeks. "He just had a tiny little fracture in a joint during the winter and we've had to give him plenty of time off. He's had a pin...

Godolphin's Ghaiyyath (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was officially named Longines World's Best Racehorse on Tuesday having been assessed to have posted the top two performances of 2020. His high mark of 130 was gained in the G1 Juddmonte International S. at York, which was also named Longines World's Best Horserace for the first time. The former Charlie Appleby trainee also recorded a mark of 127 in the G1 Hurworth Bloodstock Coronation Cup which, in a pandemic-disrupted season, was moved from Epsom to Newmarket. Bred by the Weld family's Springbank Way Stud...

Godolphin's four-time Group 1 winner Ghaiyyath (Ire) has scooped the top honours at the 30th annual Cartier Awards. The five-year-old son of Dubawi is the third Cartier Horse of the Year for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin operation following Daylami (Ire) in 1999 and Fantastic Light in 2001. Trained by Charlie Appleby, Ghaiyyath also claimed the Cartier Older Horse category ahead of Addeybb (Ire), Enable (GB) and Magical (Ire). There was further success for the Maktoum family when Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}), owned by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum and...

Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) has been scratched from Sunday's G1 Prix de l'Abbaye due to the heavy ground and could instead be re-routed to the Breeders' Cup on Nov. 7 at Keeneland. The 6-year-old gelding Battaash is a perfect three-for-three this year, but he beat just two home in a rare below-par performance in last year's Abbaye over the very soft ground. "They have had 13 millimetres of rain overnight, added to the rest earlier in the week," said trainer Charlie Hills. "I think it was 4.1 on the...

Despite the turmoil of the current world situation, it can only be described as a golden summer as far as the horses are concerned with Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) and Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) making history in their respective divisions. Friday sees the continuation of the welcome saga as the latter bids to follow up last year's tumultuous success in the G1 Coolmore Nunthorpe S. at York. Breaking his duck in this race and Dayjur's track record in the process in 2019, Shadwell's...

It was 11 years ago that Xtension (Ire) (Xaar {GB}) became only the second group winner for his trainer Clive Cox when landing the G2 Veuve Clicquot Vintage S. under Adam Kirby. In the intervening years, Cox and Kirby have become a force to be reckoned with, particularly in the major sprint contests and often with horses bought relatively inexpensively by the trainer. Xtension was himself a €15,000 yearling purchase from his breeder Paul McCartan of Ballyphilip Stud, and he was later sold on as a 3-year-old to race in...

Among some memorable performances at Royal Ascot last week, two that stood out at opposite ends of the distance spectrum were provided by Battaash (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}). The sprinter and the stayer may be poles apart in some respects, but what they share is the fact that, at the age of six, they have been around long enough to be taken to the hearts of the racing public. Six also unites their respective jockeys, Jim Crowley and Frankie Dettori, as that was...