Some of the biggest players joined Coolmore in getting a Royal Ascot return on their investment on Wednesday including the Qatari royal brothers, the Emir’s Wathnan Racing and Sheikh Joaan’s Al Shaqab.
The infant Wathnan has probably spent something north of £25 million in the last year getting a chair at racing’s top table. To the almost audible sighs of relief of bloodstock agents, it got off the mark for the week in the Queen Mary with Leovanni, one of its cheaper acquisitions at £180,000.
Talking about the importance of Wathan’s win, racing manager Richard Brown explained: “No amount of investment guarantees success in any sport, particularly ours. There were 27 lining up against us and, together, they cost an enormous amount of money. She cost a lot but in the big scheme, it’s not what some would have cost.
“But, yes, it’s a really important moment. Whether it is Wathnan or whoever, it is our job to make this interesting and for people to come and be involved in this amazing sport. For any new player to come in to our game is tremendous and show the scale of the ambition they have shown, so far, is great to have.”
They no doubt get a huge buzz out of winning but they are restrained, no doubt befitting royalty, in showing it. The complete antidote to that is David Howden who might, at the very least, need a throat lozenge for breakfast on Thursday. He was undiluted 40 per cent proof enthusiasm after Running Lion had made all to win the Duke of Cambridge to give him a first Ascot, where his insurance company is a partner, let alone Royal Ascot winner.
She is not Auguste Rodin’s league for not turning up but she had been last at Epsom on her previous start.
“You can imagine, there I am at Epsom watching,” recalled Howden.. “Off they go and I went, ‘Where’s my filly?’ She’d backed out. That’s about as low as it gets. Today is as high as it gets. I love the game. You’ve got to love it to be in it. There’s not a lot of sanity in this game. There are a lot of dreams and madness in following it so to deliver this is just fantastic.”
