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Haggas said: “Could you believe we’d be standing here at the start of the season? What a silly question. He’s done it. He’s won today. I think Jim’s words were he coped with the ground, rather than loved it, and he’s beaten the best miler in Europe so what can you say? I’m thrilled to bits. I’m shaking.
“I watched it while I was walking around a bit trying to get up my 10,000 steps a day and I’ve succeeded in that. That was great.”
A jubilant Crowley said: “I think he could be a world champion. He’s just a beast, he keeps getting better.
"The ground was a bit slow for him and on quicker ground I think he would pick up better, but he’s come a long way in a short space of time and he’s a proper champion.
“I know Sheikh Hamdan will be looking down, smiling, and I owe him everything, he gave me this opportunity, he chose me to be his jockey and although he’s not here to see it, it’s nice to be able to repay him.”
Angus Gold, Shadwell’s racing manager, said: “Sheikh Hamdan would have loved this. It is a great day for the team and his family as he marks his legacy the year he died.
“Two Group One winners – one is enough but to have two on the big day is very special. Baaeed has shown so much. He had never beaten a horse of Palace Pier’s class before. No disrespect to his previous opponents. It is just very exciting and what a fantastic horse race.
“Considering Baaeed only started his career in June and we’re now standing here as a Group One against the best milers in Europe – it is very exciting.
“It was so exciting to see those two punching away at the end of the year. Baaeed had a proper fight on his hands and he proved up for it. I’m amazed how much speed he has. He stays and has a fantastic attitude.
“This is a stallion making race, which is very important the operation, Sheikha Hissa and her family going forward. That’s important for them for the breeding – it’s also great to have a filly [Eshaada] winning a Group One too.
“The plan always was to [see him run again next year]. I imagined he would be better over a mile and a quarter, but I’m eating my own words now. We’ll see what the family want to do. He hasn’t had a hard life so far and he has done what has been asked of him the whole way through and I can’t see why he wouldn’t go on next year. He’s done everything we could possibly ask him. We need him as a stallion, and he doesn’t have to prove himself by going there [Breeders Cup].”
“Sheikh Hamdan’s family are very keen to take it on – Sheikha Hissa is very keen. Obviously, it was a huge operation and I think they just felt we needed to trim it, which is perfectly understandable. We have a lot of horses in the sales over the next six weeks and we’ll see what we’re left with. We’ll hope to keep the best ones and we’ll have some yearlings to come into training next year. Compared to most owners, it would be fairly sizeable.”
Jim Crowley celebrates Baaeed's victory
Lady Bowthorpe has been brilliant for William Jarvis this year, and he paid tribute to his hugely-popular mare after she finished third.
He said: “That effort just shows what a great mare she is. I’m thrilled. And yet I’m also very sad to see her go (to the paddocks). She owes us nothing and we are so very lucky to have had her.
“It’s a great story, ending in her putting on a career-best against the best two milers in the world. I have a good idea where she will go, and let me say it will be a quite expensive mating.”
John Gosden said of runner-up Palace Pier: “Frankie said it was a slowly run race and I think if he rode it again he would have committed sooner rather than spending his time looking round. I think he should have committed earlier. This horse stays a mile well.
“The winner is a nice horse but ridden again I think we would have been a little bolder.
“It’s likely that Palace Pier will go to stud now. He’s a fabulous horse, is good-looking, has run with consistency in Group One races throughout his career and I think he will be an exciting horse to go to stud.”
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