Royal Ascot: Noble Champion, Lazzat win last 2 group races

Lazzat continued a fine week for Wathnan Racing as he became the first French-trained winner of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Stakes in the post-war era.

In a race that developed into a straight shoot-out between Lazzat and Japanese raider Satono Reve, it was James Doyle’s mount, 9-2 in the pari-mutuel World Pool, that kept finding to repel the even-money favourite by a half-length. Wathnan’s other runner Flora Of Bermuda finished third, a further three lengths behind.

Trained by Jerome Reynier, Lazzat warmed up for Royal Ascot with an easy five-and-a-half-length success at Chantilly, after which he was purchased by Wathnan. The high-profile owner has now had five winners this week.

Reynier, celebrating a first Royal Ascot success, said, “Lazzat won at the top level as a three-year-old in the Maurice de Gheest in Deauville but, after having been all the way to Australia and Hong Kong, I was a bit scared that it was going to be tough. We have obviously been trying him over a mile to open his options, but he is a pure sprinter and we will stick to the sprinting distances over straight courses in the future.

“That was a pretty tough challenge (from Satono Reve). I have been watching all his races and he always comes late. James had a really good feeling with the horse and, when the Japanese horse came to him, Lazzat put his ears back and tried again – he said there was no way he was going to pass him today.

“The July Cup is coming a little quickly, so maybe we will defend his crown in the Maurice de Gheest. We also have the Sprint Cup and we can be back here in October because he can handle any ground. If the ground is heavy, he can do it as well. He’s a very good champion.

“Today everything went right for once, and we are happy to have a first Royal Ascot winner, especially for Wathnan and Nurlan Bizakov as a breeder. I am very happy for the connections involved.”

Doyle said, “I can’t take any credit for this – Jerome and his team told me all about him. His former jockey (Antonio Orani) before did a great job bringing him through the ranks. He rode him in Australia when he ran such a good race in the Golden Eagle.

“We had all bases covered and Jerome was very confident. He said all week ‘don’t worry about the ground, everything is fine’. We mapped the pace out and thought if I end up leading, I end up leading, and he said ‘don’t worry, he won’t stop’.

“I could feel him (Satono Reve) coming all right, but you won’t get a more genuine horse than Lazzat. He really pinned his ears back when he joined me, and he was always going to see him off.

“I thought he was my banker of the week. I feel a bit guilty because we have only picked the horse up a couple of weeks ago, and obviously I landed on him. I have to say a huge thank you to the whole team, a big thanks to everyone.”

Richard Brown of Wathnan said, “It has been an amazing week and that has capped it off. What an amazing horse race. Lazzat locked up with the Japanese horse and they have gone a long way clear in a six-furlong sprint. That was an absolutely phenomenal race to watch, and to be on the lucky side is just amazing; what a horse.

“A huge credit to Nurlan Bizakov, who bred the horse and has a lot of the family. We are very lucky they sold him to us. They Japanese horses are very hard to beat. They have world-class breeding operations. When you saw him (Satono Reve) come in, he was a monster walking round here.

“We are very privileged to be involved with a horse of this quality. It really has been special. I was saying to somebody that, before working for Wathnan, I used to come here and absolutely hate the place because you couldn’t get a winner! But there has been a lot of investment and a huge amount of hard work from all these guys. This is the cherry on top.”

Satono Reve’s jockey Joao Moreira said, “We went into the race with a lot of confidence. The horse was well in himself but we bumped into a very good horse today. Halfway through, I thought I had him done, but he just had another kick and kept attacking the line. I was closing up again and my horse ran really well. We thought we had a really good crack but, unfortunately, we just bumped into a really good horse. I can’t complain, he tried his very best.”

On Flora Of Bermuda, Brown added, “She has run an absolute blinder. She was a little free early, I need to watch it again, but she is so consistent. I would be hopeful that one of these might drop her way. She had some very good horses behind her. These two (Lazzat and Satono Reve) have obviously gone a long way clear, but she was best of the rest.”

Noble Champion upsets the final group-level race of the Royal Ascot meet

For the second time this week, Ed Walker and Kieran Shoemark produced a big-priced winner as Noble Champion, 32-1 in the pari-mutuel World Pool, ran away with the Group 3 Jersey Stakes.

Returning to seven furlongs after trying sprinting at Newbury, Noble Champion had the perfect lead into the contest from front-runner Spy Chief down the middle of the track.

Despite veering off a straight line late on, Noble Champion was well on top in the closing stages as he went away to win by three and a quarter lengths. Spy Chief (23/1) was a clear second, with 2-1 favorite Commanche Brave almost three lengths further back in third.

Walker and Shoemark teamed up earlier in the meeting with Never Let Go, who landed Friday’s Sandringham Stakes at odds of 29/1.

Walker said, “It has been a great week. We have had a few blips, but we are thrilled. I am just so pleased for this horse. We had massive belief in Noble Champion coming into this year and, for one reason or another, we have just not got it right.

“He had a setback in January, which messed up our prep for the Greenham; he needed that run. We always thought he was a Guineas horse. We really believed in him but we thought we’d go a sensible route and ran in a conditions race at Goodwood over a mile. There wasn’t much pace and he was keen and just got it all wrong.

“We then brought him back to six furlongs at Newbury because he had showed so much speed at home. We even thought we might end up supplementing him for the Commonwealth Cup, but that didn’t work, and finally the trainer got it right!  Noble Champion is as good a work horse as we have had; he has such a high cruising speed and is just a very smart horse.

“He has driven me mad. It has been really difficult, and I’m probably guilty of wearing my heart on my sleeve. I tell my owners if I think horses are good, bad or ugly, and I’ve told Simon (Sadler, owner) how much belief I had in this horse. There have been excuses, but I said to Simon, if it doesn’t work today, then I don’t know what is going wrong.

“Simon Sadler has recently come into the game. He is an incredibly generous guy and says he wants to take the stable to the next level. He is giving all of his prizemoney from Ascot to a pancreatic and liver charity. He is a great man and we’re very lucky to have him on board, but all of our owners are important. Lots of them have been with me for a very long time and. without them, we wouldn’t be where we are.”

Shoemark said, “Ed has always held Noble Champion in the highest regard. He has a lot of ability and, for one reason or another, things just haven’t gone right this year.

“The stiff seven furlongs here at Ascot, with a nice strong pace, has really seen him at his best. He was in a lovely rhythm and it was just a matter of time – when I pressed go, he really hit the line strong.

“It can be a lonely place in front here as, with the grandstand, there is plenty to look at. He would not have been in front a lot on his own before, so he was entitled to be a little bit green, but he is very talented.

“Ed’s yard really is flying and there is a lovely team at home. It is a really impressive operation. I feel very fortunate to have partnered some good horses this week.”

Robert Havlin said of Spy Chief, “A great run. He is an inexperienced horse coming from a novice win at Yarmouth. He is still learning and still needs to relax a bit. I think the more racing he does, the better he will get.”

Donnacha O’Brien said of the favorite, “Comanche Brave ran ok. I don’t think he had any excuses – the first two pulled well clear. This is a tough place, so any time you hit the board, it is not a bad result.”