Stable Musings With William Haggas

By Chris McGrath

The headline achievements of any season tend to be credited to specific horses in specific races. But trainers know better than to measure the daily challenges of their vocation solely by champions as exceptional as Golden Horn (GB) (Cape Cross {Ire}) or American Pharoah, (Pioneerof The Nile) and will duly recognize as one of the defining moments of 2015 a remarkable spree at York in August for Newmarket's proudest Yorkshire exile. William Haggas saddled four group winners at the Ebor meeting, as well as Tasleet (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) in the valuable DBS Premier Yearling S. The prizemoney won that week helped to consolidate the status of Somerville Lodge, for the second season running, as one of the five most productive stables in Britain. Yet Haggas had been convinced, back in the spring, that 2015 was going to prove a disaster.

It was not until the third week of May that Haggas sent out his tenth winner of the campaign, as measured from the start of the all-weather season the previous November. “We've had five already this time round, which shows how bad it was,” he said. “They just weren't right. I don't know how I didn't go bonkers. We had ringworm, that kind of thing, but with the numbers we have now you would hope to able to cope better. As it was, we had two runners at the Craven meeting and three at the Guineas meeting, where you'd normally be hoping to have something for every race.” By midsummer, thankfully, Haggas was back on a roll. In July, he had 24 winners at a strike rate of nearly one-in-three. “But the Ebor meeting was a case of everything just happening to fall right,” he said. “We felt from a long way out that we had the right horses for their races. In another year, for instance, a horse like Tasleet might have gone for the Gimcrack but we already had Ajaya (GB) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}) for that. Things might not fall into place in quite the same way again, but at least it made us look like we knew what we were doing!”

As the latest trainer to take stock of his prospects for 2016, for this short TDN series, Haggas pronounces himself well satisfied with his autumn restock. Numbers are slightly up for two of his mainstays, Sheikh Hamdan and Cheveley Park Stud, while he is also grateful for the fidelity of regulars such as Lael Stable. But he sounds a note of caution, in reflecting on the overall state of the yearling market. “I've felt for the last five years that the yearling sales have been absolutely crazy at the top end,” he said. “For me, the Horses-in-Training Sale was a proper reality check. Decent horses were making five figures, rather than six, and I found myself thinking: 'Woah, these yearling sales are mad. The numbers don't make any sense.' But the fact remains that at the top end there are plenty of people around who want to buy the best, and can afford to do so. Hence the fees of the big horses at stud. They look higher than they should be, but they're still full, still popular, in some cases private.” Knowing his reputation for the astute placing of horses, TDN readers will doubtless take particular note of those Haggas nominates for the twin categories in this series; one whose fulfilment has been delayed, and one who is only just starting out.

“A handicapper I like, who I think should do very well in 2016, is Afjaan (Ire) (Henrythenavigator),” he said. “He fractured a pelvis in spring last year, so he only came to the party late. But he bolted up on the all-weather a couple of weeks ago, and I'm going to put him away now. Though he's already rated 89, after just four starts, I think he could be a strong horse at seven furlongs to a mile.” In much the same way, Light Music (GB) (Elusive Quality) may have more to offer than is obvious even though she, too, has made a very solid start to her career – registering a Listed success for the Queen on the last of her three juvenile starts, at Newbury in October. “I like her very much,” Haggas said. “Every time she ran it was soft and I'm absolutely certain that's not her best ground. She looked flat out at the end, at Newbury, but the jockey agreed that he went too early on her. She's a big filly, and I think she's got exciting potential.”

Three of his group winners at the Ebor meeting were juveniles, which augurs well for the strength of his three-year-olds in 2016. But TDN has asked trainers in this series also to pick out a horse from another stable, with the exception of Air Force Blue (War Front), for next year's Classics. “I was impressed by a filly of Ralph Beckett's called Andastra (Ger) (Kamsin {Ger}),” Haggas said. “She has only had one start, in a Nottingham maiden, but won really well and could prove a smart one over middle distances.”