It took longer to call the results for Queen’s Vase (G2) on June 15 at Royal Ascot than it did to run the race.
It’s not often that you can say that about a race over a mile and six races lasting just over three minutes, but Eldar Eldarov flash home to laminate a photo with Zechariah and judges Nick Bostock and Guy Lewis needed every piece of equipment available to them to sort it out.
When they finally separated them, “first four” came on the speaker and with that Eldar Eldarov remained undefeated and David Egan got his second Royal Ascot winner, three years later. Daahyeh landing Albany Stakes (G3). In doing so, he stripped Irish jockey champion Colin Keane of his first success at the meeting.
There was only one nose in it but Egan was pretty sure he won.
“I think I got there,” he said. You don’t often hear such emphatic response from a winning racer after the end of the photo, especially one that comes close to this.
Egan added: “I’ve never hit the line so hard in a six-mile race. I finished at the start of a one-and-a-half mile race. There were a lot of interesting options for him. He was. certainly could be a St Leger horse, a mile six on soft ground. It could be a nice end of year goal for him.”
David Egan and other Eldar Eldarov connections celebrate his victory in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot
Roger Varian, who is celebrating his 10th Royal Ascot winner, agreed with his rider and said the 3-year-old, named after a tough mixed martial artist, of course can attend the final Classic final of the season. . He was cut to 6-1 (from 16) to the St Leger Stakes (G1) by Paddy Power.
The winning trainer said: “There’s a lot that has to come from this horse and I think his best days are ahead. He’s put on a fantastic performance and you would think look. down the road where he can develop into a St Leger horse. Even looking into next year, hopefully, he can continue to make progress.”
For Keane, it was a case of what could happen with Freddie and Martyn Meade-coached Zechariah, who kicked for the home team when they crossed the two-feathers post and remained ahead of the line.
“It was bittersweet to be beaten,” says Keane. “He was a horse that I would have loved to have ridden before or even knew a little about. It can be the difference between winning and losing. Distance is no problem for him and he will probably go a little further. “
Describing his feelings, Martyn Meade said: “A nod! Can you believe it? A mile of 6 stretches and you think ‘Crikey, you can’t be beaten by a little’ but it was Race for you!
“For a minute we thought we were going to win it, but we were in the stands and really couldn’t tell. We were too far away. It must have been a tough game to call. The temperature. It’s better to die.”
Unfortunately, there is no room for affection in this game, which can be so cruel to losers, especially those who have been beaten up.
