How the Doncaster Mile became an unlikely target for English trainer William Haggas
English trainer William Haggas is unfamiliar with the phrase “beating the handicapper” but his galloper Protagonist can do just that in the Doncaster Mile on Saturday.
Racing at Group 1 level under handicap conditions is a foreign concept to English trainer William Haggas.
“We don’t have stakes races for the handicaps in England any more,’’ Haggas said.
“All our feature races are weight-for-age and, personally, I think that is a good thing.
“When it is a Group 1 race they should all carry the same weight and the best horse should win.
“If it is a handicap, the best horse will carry the most weight and you will get horses carrying five, six, 7kg less and that levels it up.
“It makes it a more competitive race and a great betting race but the best horse doesn’t always win at the weights.’’
DONCASTER MILE RUNNER-BY-RUNNER ANALYSIS
The English maestro made these comments on the eve of the $4m Doncaster Mile (1600m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday where he will be represented by leading lightweight hopeful, Protagonist.
Haggas is concedes he is unsure how Protagonist lines up in the Doncaster and is more comfortable talking about his Ranvet Stakes winner Dubai Honour’s showdown with champion Anamoe in the Sydney’s richest autumn carnival weight-for-age race, the $5m Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick on April 8 – but more about that later.
There are many structural differences between England and Australian racing but few as stark as the importance two countries place in handicap racing.
The English concentrate on weight-for-age racing to protect their breed but feature handicaps are a significant part of the Australian turf calendar with races like the Doncaster, Melbourne Cup, Caulfield Cup, Sydney Cup, Epsom Handicap and others.
Haggas has sent some of his best horses to the Sydney autumn carnival in recent years but admitted the Doncaster Mile had not been a target race for him.
“The Doncaster has never been on my radar,’’ Haggas admitted.
“We have been trying to aim at the weight-for-age races.’’
So, Protagonist becomes the first English-trained horse to run in a Doncaster, qualifying for the big Randwick mile when he won the Group 3 Sky High Stakes at his Sydney debut earlier this month.
Zeyrek, who finished fast to just miss behind Protagonist that day, has since franked the form by winning the Group 3 Neville Sellwood Stakes last week and is likely to take on Dubai Honour and Anamoe in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes next week.
Protagonist, raced by Australian Bloodstock’s Jamie Lovett and Luke Murrell, carried 55kg to win the Sky High and drops to just 50kg for the Doncaster.
The English raider is the perfect example of “beating the handicapper” which is not a phrase Haggas is familiar with.
“I don’t really understand it but that is what they (owners) are thinking,’’ Haggas said.
“He will never have a weight like this again but most of the weights in this race are low.’’
Brisbane’s leading jockey Ben Thompson has been booked to ride Protagonist in the Doncaster, a reward for his run of good form that included a breakthrough Group 1 win on Uncommon James in the Oakleigh Plate.
“He (Thompson) can do the weight (50kg) and he rode a few winners in Brisbane the other day (five-timer at Doomben),’’ Haggas said.
Protagonist has had a relatively trouble-free preparation for the Doncaster where he has drawn well in barrier six.
“He has been a bit foot sore but he’s better now,’’ Haggas said.
“His work has been good and we are very happy with him.’’
Remarkably, Protagonist, a six-year-old gelding, had never contested a stakes race before the Sky High Stakes.
His 23 starts in England and Ireland had been in handicap races with the notable exception of a Punchestown maiden hurdle where he ran fourth over 3219m!
Of course, legendary Irish stayer Vintage Crop famously won the 1993 Melbourne Cup after contesting hurdle races earlier in his race career so it is not without precedent for an overseas “jumper’’ to be competitive at Group 1 level in Australia.
But Protagonist has to come back in trip from 2000m last start to race over the famous Randwick mile course in the Doncaster although Haggas was buoyed by the feedback from champion jockey James McDonald.
“Personally, I feel Protagonist is more a 2000m horse,’’ Haggas said.
“But James McDonald said the horse travelled well in the run at Rosehill and the Australian Bloodstock boys feel he is a good chance on the figures he ran that day.
“As they say, the Doncaster is worth $4 million – what are we doing, let’s have a go!”
The Englishman said Sydney’s record prizemoney is a primary reason he has begun to regularly send horses here for the autumn carnival in recent years.
“That’s why we are coming,’’ he said.
“We feel if we have good horses that are competitive in Europe, especially at the staying level, then they should run well in Sydney.’’
Haggas is chasing his fifth Sydney Group 1 with Protagonist in the Doncaster.
He trained Addeybb to win successive Queen Elizabeth Stakes wins in 2020-21 and the 2020 Ranvet Stakes, the same race Dubai Honour won so impressively earlier this month.
From his stable base at famous Newmarket, Haggas has been one of England’s leading trainers for nearly 40 years, preparing Shaamit to win the Epsom Derby in 1996.
Some of the champions to come out of his Somerville Lodge stables include Dancing Rain, Mukhadram, Sea Of Class and the freakish Baaeed, the leading turf horse in the world last year.
Baaeed won 10 of his 11 starts, six at Group 1 level, including his brilliant win in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot. He has been retired to stand at Shadwell’s Nunnery Stud near Newmarket.
Dubai Honour is not in Baaeed’s league but he’s a very talented horse as he demonstrated in the Ranvet Stakes.
Dubai Honour, a multiple Group 2 winner in England, had gone winless last year before his runaway Ranvet romp, when he put more than four lengths on Montefilia and the rest of the field in a dominant comeback win.
“I was surprised he won so comfortably, pleasantly surprised,’’ Haggas said.
“But having said that I thought we had him in really good condition. He was never in the best condition last year but he’s back to his best form.
“He’s a pretty good horse. When he was a three-year-old he ran second in the (2021) Champion Stakes, which is a Group 1 at Ascot and one of our big races in England.’’
Dubai Honour has now firmed into equal favouritism at $2.50 with Anamoe for next week’s Queen Elizabeth which also includes Japan’s Unicorn Lion.
Haggas was in Saudi Arabia last weekend where the Japanese won with Ushba Tesoro won the Dubai World Cup and superstar Equinox thrashed his rivals in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
Reigning Equinox is now being rated the best horse in world racing and the superiority of the Japanese thoroughbred gives Haggas reason to be wary of Unicorn Lion.
“Equinox never came off the bit to win in Dubai, he’s some horse,’’ Haggas said.
“They are very strong the Japanese, they have been strong for a while now, so I’m always worried about them
“Although Unicorn Lion isn’t one of their real top horses, he’s got a good record and the depth of the Japanese is outstanding.’’
The subject then turned to Anamoe, the Godolphin champion who has been almost invincible this season, winning seven of his eight starts including six at Group 1 level.
Anamoe has reeled off wins this autumn in the Apollo Stakes, Chipping Norton Stakes and George Ryder Stakes to prepare for his final Australian start in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes next week.
Haggas played the role of spoiler twice previously with Addeybb beating local heroine Verry Elleegant in successive Queen Elizabeth Stakes and has Dubai Honour primed to end Anamoe’s winning run next week.
“Anamoe is obviously very good,’’ Haggas said.
“He will be tough to beat, he’s a world class horse, he finds a way to win.
“I can’t believe 1500m (George Ryder) is his best trip but the only slight reservation I would have off that form is that they finished in a bunch. There were six or eight of them that finished close behind.
“But he keeps winning, he’s won nine Group 1 races now and I mean that is a phenomenal record.’’
Haggas missed Addeybb’s Sydney autumn carnival wins due to the global pandemic.
The trainer’s travel schedule in recent days meant he couldn’t be here for Protagonist’s Doncaster Mile bid but he is arriving in Sydney next Monday and will be trackside for the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
“I think it is good to bring an international flavour to the race,’’ Haggas said.
“You have the local horses like Anamoe, we have Dubai Honour and the Japanese horse, Unicorn Lion – it’s great.
“A lot of people know what is happening in Sydney and it brings racing closer and closer.
“They see me doing it and having some success and they will think about bringing horses to Sydney themselves. It’s great for racing.’’
Originally published as How the Doncaster Mile became an unlikely target for English trainer William Haggas
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