Al Aasy was the highlight of a quickfire 13.3/1 double for William Haggas and Jim Crowley at Haydock.
Having taken the opening Betfred 'Play Fred's 5 Million' Handicap with Kathab, the 11/2 chance squeezing between rivals a furlong out before stretching clear to beat Diamondonthehill, the pair teamed up to capture the feature Betfred Rose Of Lancaster Stakes.
The 6/5 favourite was held up in rear for much of the Group Three contest and while travelling strongly, he had plenty of ground to make up as El Drama (10/1) mastered Midnight Mile and made the best of his way home.
However Crowley had timed things to perfection, producing his quirky partner to lead in the final strides and score by a neck.
“It was smooth. I followed the Godolphin horse and he didn’t really take me into the race and then I switched back in and got a nice split through,” the winner rider told Racing TV.
“I could probably have done with them going a stride quicker for him, I didn’t think they went that quick and that was the only way he was going to get beat. We’re lucky the drop of rain arrived this morning, that helped him.
“He’s a class horse, I think it’s done him good coming back to ten furlongs, he’s a strong traveller, and he’s got his confidence now. It’s nice that he’s showing what we thought he could do early on.
“I’m sure Mr Haggas has it all planned out but ten furlongs with cut in the ground is ideal. It will be Group races, he’ll go up in class I’d imagine, maybe look at France or somewhere but as I said Mr Haggas will have it all planned out.”
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
Maureen Haggas, assistant to her husband, said: “He was good today, both horse and jockey were good. Jim said he was cool throughout and it just fell apart in front of him a bit, so the horse had to work. To his credit he did and he got there.
“He’s had his ups and downs, but he’s always been a talented horse and I think bringing him back to a mile and a quarter has been a good thing. He travels through the race well and he really looked like he was enjoying himself today.
“He’s been perhaps unfairly criticised, but since we’ve had him gelded we’ve never really classed him as ungenuine. He’s been a bit unfortunate once or twice, though before he was gelded he was definitely thinking about other things and since it has helped him.
“Next steps are for William to work out. He’s won Group Three races before and he’s been competitive at Group One level before and although he’s old he’s a bit like Hamish in that he hasn’t got many miles on the clock.”
More from Sporting Life
- Racecards
- Fast results
- Full results and free video replays
- Horse racing news
- Horse racing tips
- Horse racing features
- Download our free iOS and Android app
- Football and other sports tips
- Podcasts and video content
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org
