Talking Horses: Hills targets unlikely Goodwood hat-trick with Battaash

Sometimes in horse racing a trainer just has to stick with what works, even if logic suggests it should not. That is the situation in which Charlie Hills finds himself as he prepares to send Battaash to Glorious Goodwood next week, where the crack sprinter will try to become the first horse to win the King George Stakes three times.

For all his speed, Battaash has so far been unable to win at either Ascot or York but he is unbeaten in two visits to Goodwood. Asked what makes the Sussex track ideal for the horse, Hills said yesterday: “I don’t know. I would have thought it would be the worst place because it’s not the easiest lead-up.”

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This is a reference to Battaash’s now familiar propensity for worrying his chance away in the moments before a race. At Goodwood, runners have to be driven in a horsebox from the racecourse stables up to the paddock area – a distance of about a mile. Once the jockey is mounted, they then face a long walk through a big crowd to the track.

It is a combination of circumstances not calculated to suit a nervy animal. “But he seems to love it there,” Hills said. “He’s behaved twice there very well. Maybe the contours of the track help him. Whether he handles going down the hill better than some of those big sprinters, that may be the case. He’s a tremendously fast horse.”

Battaash is a hot favourite for the Group Two contest a week on Friday, with few bookmakers prepared to offer better than 4-7. They are less worried about the chance of Hills’s other big‑race contender for Goodwood, Phoenix Of Spain, a 7-1 shot in the Sussex Stakes next Wednesday.

Those odds derive from the memory of his midfield finish at Royal Ascot last month and it seems punters are more inclined to believe in that form than his earlier Irish Guineas success. But Hills can think of a couple of reasons why that could be a mistake.

“It was horrible conditions for that race, the ground was getting quite loose on top, and he didn’t really handle that surface too good. All his best performances have been on fast ground,” which the grey is likely to get next week.

Bath 2.00 Uncertain Smile 2.30 Fanzone 3.00 Devils Roc 3.30 Street Jester 4.00 Storm Melody 4.30 Canal Rocks 5.00 Bader 
Catterick 2.10 Frost At Midnight 2.40 Gold Venture 3.10 Ambyfaeirvine (nap) 3.40 Ollivander 4.10 Timetodock 4.40 Chickenfortea 5.10 Mr Greenlight 5.45 Calliope 
Lingfield 2.20 Savitar 2.50 Sharp Operator 3.20 Zuba 3.50 Nkosikazi 4.20 Fashion Free 4.50 Sweet Sixteen 5.20 Betsey Trotter 
Leicester 5.40 Chetan 6.10 Real Smooth 6.40 Izvestia 7.15 Volcanic Sky 7.45 Swiss Chill 8.20 Perfect Grace 8.50 Alicia Darcy 
Sandown 6.00 Grange Walk 6.30 Poets Dance 7.05 Han Solo Berger 7.35 Moraawed 8.10 Motawaj 8.40 Machine Learner (nb) 

Hills adds that his horse may not have enjoyed repeated disturbances to his routine after his Classic success, being called upon by a series of journalists, photographers and vets, the latter a consequence of a stud deal being hammered out.

“It was quite busy in between Ireland and Ascot,” Hills said. “Lots of media attention, plus veterinary attention, lots of vets poking around for insurance purposes and everything else.”

“He loves going out at seven o’clock, having his breakfast and lying down, and looking out the window in the afternoon. He wasn’t able to do that. Just, people poking around, really.”

“We’ve had a good chance to freshen him up now, he had a good two weeks really going quiet. His weight’s very good and Simon Whitworth, who rides him every morning, is really happy with him at this stage. Goodwood could be a good place for him.”