Maiden Lockinge for Hamdan with Mustashry
Royal Ascot beckons the Sir Michael Stoute-trained miler
Dubai: Former British champion jockey Jim Crowley claimed one of the most significant wins of his career when he partnered Mustashry to win the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes at Newbury Racecourse on Saturday.
The winner provided breeder-owner Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, with a first-ever success in the prestigious mile contest, which is the second race in the mile division of the British Champions Series, a series of 35 top British flat races.
As a result Mustashry was shortened to 4-1 (from 20) for the Queen Anne Stakes at next month’s Royal Ascot meeting. The last to win both races in the same year was Frankel in 2012.
He scored by two-and-a-half lengths from Laurens, with Accidental Agent running on well to finish third.
Crowley told Racing TV: “Sir Michael is a brilliant trainer and his horses improve every season. He’s getting better and we thought he’d run well today. They didn’t go particularly quick for the first half of the race, but we got rolling and I tagged on to the back of Laurens, who gave me a nice toe. The good thing with this horse is that he is so consistent. He’s an absolute pleasure to be around.”
Shaikh Hamdan has enjoyed over 50 Group 1 wins in Europe in addition to big race success in America, Australia and Dubai, but a first win in the Lockinge will mean a lot to him, given the fact that he is one of the most influential and popular figures in world thoroughbred racing.