A handicap winner at Royal Ascot today could return to the Berkshire racecourse next month for the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes, sponsored by QIPCO.
No ordinary handicap, of course, but the Listed Wolferton Handicap, which went to Mahsoob, who is now unbeaten after four runs for owner/breeder Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. Ridden by Paul Hanagan, Mahsoob, a four-year-old son of Dansili, won by half a length and a head from Sennockian Star and Fire Fighting.
Mahsoob, the 7/4 favourite, holds entries as diverse as the John Smith's Magnet Cup Handicap, the King George at 12 furlongs and the Coral-Eclipse Stakes over ten furlongs, prompting winning trainer John Gosden to say: "He's well engaged."
Gosden, who has now trained the Wolferton Handicap winner in three of the past five years, added: "The jockey had to go wide and the horse took a little while to get going, but he's still learning. There's a bar called Bangers And Bubbly (in the grandstand) and for a moment I thought he'd end up running behind that, but he's got the job done. He was forced wide and the horse on his outside was bothering him quite a bit, but he's an inexperienced horse and he got there well.
"I think he's slightly telling us to step him up to a mile and a half - I trained his mother [Mooakada, by Montjeu] and she was capable of winning up to a mile and a half. The owner will make the final decision.
"The horse was a little bit keen early, but the jockey said he hit the line running, and that was good to hear. We wanted to use our draw and go forward, but in mile-and-a-quarter races around here with a full field there's always a lot of hustle and bustle, and it can be difficult for horses. He's done well to overcome his inexperience, end up in the middle of the track and still win."
Gosden said the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes could be on Mahsoob's agenda next, although his very strong hand of entries for that race includes the Investec Derby one-two Golden Horn and Jack Hobbs.
Other recent victories for Gosden include the Prix de Diane with Star Of Seville, of which he wryly said: "We had a bit of fun in France. They didn't see us coming and we snuck in there - it was Waterloo, the cavalry charge."
