William Haggas is confident he has done everything in his power to get Economics primed for a long-awaited comeback run in Saturday’s QIPCO Champion Stakes.
The four-year-old could finish only sixth behind Anmaat in the Champions Day feature at the end of a top-class season last year, with the vet also reporting the son of Night Of Thunder had bled from the nose, and Newmarket trainer Haggas has had to play the long game in getting the chestnut back on track.
This weekend he returns to action in one of the hottest editions of the 10-furlong contest we’ve seen for years, featuring Ombudsman, Delacroix and Calandagan - winners of the Prince of Wales's Stakes/Juddmonte International Stakes, Coral-Eclipse/Irish Champion Stakes and King George respectively - and Haggas is well aware of the monumental task facing his 2024 Irish Champion Stakes hero.
Haggas told Wednesday’s Nick Luck Daily Podcast: “He was heading for Ascot (Royal meeting in June) and then he had a setback about two weeks before and that’s delayed everything. So we’re pleased to get him back.
“He went to Newbury around two and a half weeks before (Prince of Wales’s Stakes), he didn’t pull up great after that. No bleeding, but he wasn’t very sound, and that’s why he’s been off for so long.
“He’s a lovely horse, a great-natured horse. He gets lots of attention as you can imagine. I’ve just let it evolve (fitness) and hoped that we could get him back at this time of the year. Sure, we’ve squeezed a bit, but you have to. Getting him fit, keeping him sound and scoping him, regularly, just to check and so far so good.
“We think he’s ready to go, anyway.
“We wouldn’t be going anywhere near if we thought that (bursting blood vessel) was likely to happen, but then having said that we didn’t think it would happen at Ascot last year and it did. We don’t know but the ground was very soft – heavy – and it was the end of a long old season. Two and two came to five, we thought.
“He’s a good horse, it would be dangerous to underestimate him, but we’re just concerned that he might not be as sharp as we’d like him. But he’s perfectly ready to run and he’s ready to run a good race. He’s lazy, he’s always been like that, so they’re difficult to get a handle on but we’ve done out best.
“He worked well this morning, he stretched well, Ted Durcan rode him and was happy so all systems go.
"It's the best horse in England, the best horse in Ireland and the best horse in France who are all appearing to run against him, never mind a few others as well, so it's going to be a strong race. But he's a Group 1 horse and it's a Group 1 race - so here we are."
Haggas is also looking forward to running Montassib and Crown Of Oaks in the Champions Sprint Stakes and Balmoral Handicap respectively.
Referring to Montassib's comeback effort over five furlongs at Newbury, Haggas said: "I was delighted with the way he ran. He's a lovely horse and he's come forward for the run.
"He'd enjoy a bit more cut in the ground than he's going to get, but he's in good shape and ready to go. He's a talented horse. Sky Majesty won't run, she'll likely stop now and be retained for next year."
On the progressive Crown Of Oaks, he added: "He was put up a lot for his win at Ascot but was impressive. I thought he ran pretty well (at the Curragh last time, beaten when odds-on).
"The make-up of the Balmoral will suit him. He might want it softer ideally but it's autumn ground and it's not going to be quick. He looks well, he is a fit horse. I don't know why we ran him in Ireland really, it was probably stupid, but he ran commendably and I'm sure he'll run a nice race on Saturday."
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