Jockey Frankie Dettori and Al Shaqab general manager Khalifa bin Mohammed al-Attiyah receive trophies after Tashaar’s victory.
Agencies/London
Trainer Richard Hannon could not contain his excitement following Tashaar’s impressive length and half victory after being eased down by Frankie Dettori in the concluding Betfred Mobile Handicap at Goodwood yesterday.
The son of Sea The Stars is now unbeaten in two starts and was a third winner on the day for Al Shaqab Racing. Rhythmical stayed on to be second, with Shell Bay a length and a quarter further back in third.
“I would love to think Tashaar is a Group horse in the making,” said Hannon. “I thought he could be our Chesham horse last year but he was a bit weak and didn’t move right going into it.
“We bought him off Michyael Kinane and he has always been a lovely horse, but a work in progress. We have given him the time and are being rewarded for it now. He could be a very good horse.
“He has been fine since he won at Haydock in May. We gave him that long to run that there was no point rushing him all of a sudden. I put him in a few races at Sandown, but there were like 16 runners and I felt it would not be fair on him having only had one run.
“The owners sponsor this meeting and I wanted to show them how good he was. I felt this was the next logical step. I loved the way he was off the bridle for much of it like a horse that wasn’t really fussed about what is going on. He was doing it all naturally.”
Hannon has moved on to five winners for the meeting, while Dettori four. Both hold clear leads in the race to be top trainer and Racing UK top jockey at the 2015 Qatar Goodwood Festival.
