Lake Forest delivers English trainer William Haggas another Australian feature race win in $10m Golden Eagle at Rosehill

English trainer William Haggas has made a habit of claiming feature races in Sydney and he has done it again, this time with Lake Forest in the $10m Golden Eagle at Rosehill.

Lake Forest provided English maestro William Haggas with another feature Sydney race training triumph in a dramatic $10m Golden Eagle at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday.

In a spectacular finish, England’s Lake Forest burst through underneath France’s Lazzat for an international 1-2 in Australia’s second richest race.

But then a double protest was lodged – connections of Lazzat lodged an objection against Lake Forest alleging interference near the finish and, to complicate matters, fifth placegetter Stefi Magnetica’s team protested against the runner-up.

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Racing NSW chief steward Steve Railton took only a couple of minutes to dismiss both objections and confirm the placings.

But the stewards panel came down hard on overseas riders, England’s Cieren Fallon (Lake Forest) and Italy’s Antonio Orani (Lazzat) for the interference near the line.

Railton described Fallon’s actions on allowing Lake Forest to move out and bump Lazzat near the finishing post as “grossly careless” and issued a one-month suspension and record $100,000 fine.

Orani was also hit with a month ban and a $30,000 fine for allowing his mount to drift out and case interference to Stefi Magnetica.

Haggas, feeling unwell with a heavy cold, was watching from his England home and admitted he was concerned when it became apparent the race was going to be determined in the stewards room.

“I was confident Lake Forest would keep the race but that’s easy for anyone to say until the decision is handed down,” Haggas said.

“It was a nervous few minutes but then a sense of relief when the stewards dismissed both protests.

“To pull this off, it’s unbelievable…unbelievable. I would have to say it up there with the best wins we have had.

👏 @WilliamHaggas has done it again!

Lake Forest wins the $10 Million Golden Eagle with Cieren Fallon in the saddle!@aus_turf_clubpic.twitter.com/Hr3IR1vG2x

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 2, 2024

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“But this is not just about me, it’s a real team effort and Issy (Paul, stable representative) and Cieren (Fallon, jockey) deserve a lot of credit.”

Lake Forest ($19), still a three-year-old by northern hemisphere time, came with a stunning late surge to reel in early leader Lazzat ($4.80) and win the Golden Eagleby a half length with Tom Kitten ($13) a half head away third.

Makarena raced on speed and with Lazzat and held on gamely for fourth while Stefi Magnetica finished an unlucky fifth.

Japanese filly Ascoli Piceno was heavily backed into $3.10 favouritism but got a long way back early from her wide barrier and never really got into the race. She finished only 12th, beaten more than four lengths.

Haggas has an extraordinary record sending horses to Sydney in recent years having prepared Addeybb to win the Ranvet Stakes-Queen Elizabeth Stakes double in 2020 and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes in 2021.

Then Haggas sent Dubai Honour to Sydney to win the 2023 Ranvet Stakes-Queen Elizabeth Stakes double, while he has also won three Manion Cups with Young Rascal (2020), Favorite Moon (2021) and Post Impressionist (2024).

But the win of Lake Forest probably trumps them all given the sprinter’s youth and inexperience.

“We were going into the unknown a bit this time with a three-year-old coming out of our summer into your spring,” Haggas said.

"Absolutely delighted with the horse!"

Here's what Isabella Paul and Cieren Fallon said after Lake Forest's win in the $10 Million Golden Eagle 🦅@WilliamHaggas | @aus_turf_clubpic.twitter.com/QJ34ijkw1e

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 2, 2024

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“Izzy kept telling me how well the horse was doing in Sydney and young Cieren was very confident.

“He had a plan to go inside the rail, the shortest way home. I thought at the furlong (a200m) that he was going to run a nice fifth.

“But Lake Forest is a real finisher, this horse is so strong at the end of his races. They had gone hard and he was able to run them down.

“The race is worth a s… load of money but for everything to come together like it has, we are obviously delighted.”

Haggas entrusts Paul to take care of his Sydney raiders – the trainer has only been down once to see Dubai Honour win the Queen Elizabeth Stakes last year – and once again she has delivered for the champion English trainer.

“Yeah, Sydney is like a second home now, I hope we might get citizenship at some stage,” Paul said.

“No, it’s great to be back down here and it’s phenomenal to have another winner.”

Paul said Lake Forest had thrived at the Canterbury quarantine and training facility and expected the young sprinter to be hard to beat.

“He’s not an overly big horse but he’s got plenty of presence and he’s solid - and just that explosive turn of foot is phenomenal,” she said.

“Cieren has ridden that so beautifully, and that was the plan, sit back, let them all kill themselves in front and come through to finish.

“But a really brave ride from Ceiren and oh my God, how exciting.”

"I don't think this will be the last time you'll be seeing him out here."

Golden Eagle winning jockey @CierenFallonJr3 reflects on Lake Forest's famous win in the $10 million feature from Rosehill. @[e-mail]/y0yb43T1Bh

— Racing NSW (@racing_nsw) November 2, 2024

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Fallon was exceptional on and off the track. His daring ride was quite outstanding but then he delivered the coup de grace in the stewards room.

As stewards considered the protest by Lazzat’s connections alleging interference by Lake Forest near the line, Fallon put the issue to rest with a simple statement.

“Yes, we have brushed the other horse but we have already gone past him,” Fallon said. “Clearly the best horse won.”

Fallon then dedicated the Golden Eagle win to his late friend, jockey Stefano Cherchi who sadly died in April after injuries he sustained in a race fall in Canberra.

“Obviously Stefano helped me get a few gaps there,” Fallon said, pointing to the sky.

“Wow, I can’t believe it. I’m lost for words. Everything went to Plan A. I wanted to tuck in, we knew we had a lot of speed and had to save his turn of foot.

“I thought if we used too much energy early on we’d have been taking away our turn of foot. So I had to ride him quite brave and hope we got a bit of luck.”

Fallon said he had a lot of belief in Lake Forest’s ability to finish over the top of his rivals.

“In all of his races he’d been crying out for a bit further,” Fallon said.

“Around the bend, it got a bit tight and I saved as much ground as I could up the inside and he showed his turn of foot towards the end and hit the line very strongly.”

Fallon described Lake Forest as a “superstar” and singled out Haggas for special praise.

“To ride for the boss, he places his horses very well, I think he’s the best in the world at it,” Fallon said.

“I’ve been with him since day one, he’s looked after me, so to have faith in me to put me up on mounts like this, I’m very grateful, and I’m glad I could repay the favour.”

Originally published as Lake Forest delivers English trainer William Haggas another Australian feature race win in $10m Golden Eagle at Rosehill