How many times did Battaash win the Nunthorpe Stakes?

Owned, latterly, by Shadwell Estate Company Ltd., following the death of founder, Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, in March, 2021, and trained by Charles Hills, Battaash was described by Timeform as ‘one of the best five-furlong sprinters of all time’. He was retired, as a 7-year-old, after attempting, unsuccessfully, to win the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood for the fifth consecutive year in July, 2021.

All told, Battaash won 13 of his 23 starts, including four at the highest, Group 1 level, and earned £1.47 million in winning prize money alone. The son of Dark Angel, a leading sire of sprinters, first rode to prominence in his 3-year-old campaign, in 2017, at the end of which he won his first Group 1 race, the Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp.

As far as the Nunthorpe Stakes was concerned, Battaash ran in the York showpiece four times, famously finishing a well-held fourth on his first two attempts, in 2017 and 2018. However, in 2019, Battaash silenced his doubters by quickening clear to win the Nunthorpe Stakes by 3¾ lengths and, in so doing, beat the previous track record set by Dayjur in 1990. In 2020, Battaash was sent off at odds-on to defend his title; rain-softened ground, driving rain and gusting, 40mph winds put paid to any hopes of lowering the course record again, but he nonetheless battled to a one-length victory over 22/1 chance Que Amoro.

Has the Lockinge Stakes always been a Group One race?

Nowadays, the Lockinge Stakes, run over a mile at Newbury in May, is a Group One race open to four-year-olds and older horses. However, that has not always been the case. The Lockinge Stakes was established in 1958 and for much of its existence was open to three-year-olds. Indeed, the inaugural winner, Pall Mall, was a three-year-old owned by Queen Elizabeth II and trained by Cecil Boyd-Rochfort

Following the introduction of the European Pattern in 1971, the Lockinge Stakes was assigned Group Two status but, based on a rolling three-year average of the ratings of the first four finishers, was downgraded to Group Three status in 1983, before being upgraded again in 1985. In 1995, the race was upgraded again, to Group One status, and closed to three-year-olds.

Since the inauguration of the British Champion Series, in 2011, the Lockinge Stakes has been the second race of the season in the Mile category, which starts with the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket and ends with the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot. The most notable recent winner was undoubtedly Frankel, who cruised to a 5-length victory, at odds of 2/7, in 2012.

How does Baaeed compare with Frankel?

Frankel was, by any metric, the greatest racehorse in history and the details of his flawless, 14-race career have been well chronicled. Suffice to say that his trainer, the late Sir Henry Cecil, who trained 25 Classic winners, including Reference Point, said of him, ‘I cannot believe in the history of racing that there has ever been a better racehorse.’

Sadly, Cecil died of cancer in June, 2013, so what he would have made of Baaeed we’ll never know. Neverthless, Baaeed has drawn comparisons with Frankel after winning all six starts during his 3-year-old campaign, including the Prix du Moulin de Longchamp and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. In fact, it was in the latter race, in 2011, that Frankel earned his highest Timeform rating up to that point, 143, so a direct comparison with Baaeed is straightforward enough.

By contrast, Baaeed finished his 3-year-old campaign with a Timeform rating of just 130, so was clearly some way behind his illustrious predecessor at that stage of his career. However, it is worth noting that Baaeed was a late foal and, unlike Frankel, was considered too immature to race as a juvenile. In fact, the son of Sea The Stars did not make his racecourse debut until June 7, 2021, two months after his ‘real’ third birthday on April 8, so there’s still no telling how much improvement he has left in him. In October, 2021, trainer William Haggas confirmed that Baaeed would stay in training as a 4-year-old, saying, ‘It’s terrific to have one of the best 3-year-olds in Europe, probably.’

Did Master Oats win the Welsh National?

The joint-eleventh highest rated steeplechaser in the history of Timeform, Master Oats is best remembered for winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup, by 15 lengths, in 1995. Indeed, prior to the victory of First Flow in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot in January, 2021, he was the last Grade 1 winner for Gloucestershire trainer Kim Bailey.

Master Oats also ran three times, without success, in the Grand National. On his first appearance, in 1994, he fell at the thirteenth fence, before finishing seventh in 1995 and fifth in 1997, both times under top weight of 11st 10lb. However, he did win the Welsh National, albeit a hastily-rearranged version, run over 3 miles 5½ furlongs at Newbury, on New Year’s Eve, 1994, after the original meeting at Chepstow was abandoned, due to waterlogging, four days earlier.

Fresh from a 4-length victory over Party Politics in the Rehearsal Chase at Chepstow on his reappearance earlier that month, Master Oats was sent off 5/2 favourite for the Welsh National and never gave his supporters and anxious moment. Held up at the rear of the field by regular partner Norman Williamson, Master Oats was still hard on the bridle when taking the lead at the fourth-last fence; thereafter, he sauntered clear and, despite being eased on the run-in, still won impressively, by 20 lengths from Earth Summit, with Party Politics a further 25 lengths behind in third place.

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