Baaeed has had the misfortune throughout his career to suffer constant comparisons to Juddmonte’s superstar of yesteryear, Frankel. Like the former champion Baaeed arrived at York in his four year old season an unbeaten winner of multiple Group 1 races over a mile. At the Knavesmire both faced the step up to a mile and a quarter and the additional questions posed by that test. Frankel had answered them all in imperious fashion.
At York today, fittingly enough in a race sponsored by Frankel’s owners Juddmonte, it was Baaeed’s turn to prove himself. Despite his flawless record, plenty pundits were willing to take him on with John and Thady Gosden’s Mishriff, who’d been such an impressive winner of the race 12 months ago. But, like Frankel, Baaeed had all the answers and then some.
There had been a mild scare before the race, a rash on Baaeed’s neck drawing the attention of the stewards. The nature of it remains a mystery and Trainer William Haggas was fined for failing it declare it for now but it didn’t appear to affect Baaeed’s form in any way.
Calm and composed but sweating slightly between his hind quarters in the warm Yorkshire summer sunshine, Baaeed otherwise looked a picture in the paddock beforehand.
In the race his regular jockey Jim Crowley settled Baaeed in second last place of the six runners, tracking stable companion Dubai Honour who raced just ahead of him while Aidan O’Brien’s High Definition set the pace.
Turning for home Moore sent High Definition on but Mishriff was soon on his flanks. Baaeed was travelling smoothly in behind however and as Mishriff’s jockey James Doyle started to niggle away at his mount, Crowley on Baaeed was still motionless.
Once Crowley set Baaeed alight the response was instant and he quickly passed Mishriff and settled the race in a matter of strides, romping away to win by six and a half lengths.
Trainer William Haggas was quick to rule out an attempt at the Arc De Triomphe suggesting that the Champion stakes at Ascot had always been the plan and that they would stick to that.
Jockey Crowley was full of praise for the colt. “I’m not joking here – he’d win a July Cup all the way up to a mile and a half, he has everything. He’s as good as the greats.”
Owner Sheikha Hissa, daughter of the late Hamdan Al Maktoum whose Shadwell Stud enterprise owns and bred Baaeed, clearly derived great pleasure from the result. “In every aspect, I enjoyed it so much,” she said. “I think today I was more nervous than the other days as it was a different distance, but he proved he is better at this distance and we have been running him over the wrong distance!”
Tickets for Ascot’s Champion’s Day will now surely become a hot item as racing fans will be keen to see the final act in a play that has seen Baaeed elevate himself from a Leicester maiden win in the June of his three year old year to the highest rated racehorse in the world.