Battaash: Good Horse, Great Yardstick

We are over-blessed on the Flat. We have the peerless Enable, the great Stradivarius. An abundance of talent. Amongst the abundance is Battaash.

He is bloody good, tough and hardy. But he is not world class. A genius on his day, but disappointing off it.

I find horses like Battaash immensely frustrating. As a racing fan, I’m perfectly happy getting over-excited about the next big thing on four legs. Part of the fun is losing your mind over the dominant horse of now, in having a total lack of perspective about the actual real-life importance of a horse’s performance. Battaash, to my immense disappointment, is not a horse who makes you melt into a puddle of hyperbole.

He came close a couple of times. The 2017 King George Stakes at Goodwood was a great example of his promise. I was there with my Uncle Colin, pleased to be away from the office and the menace of the trading floor. Battaash pulverised a half decent Group 2 field, savaging them. He came straight onto the bridle, tracked them for a bit and just motored away down the hill. Jim Crowley basically did nothing, let Battaash hammer away until there was nothing left by his side. It was such a performance that I thought the new sprint star was born.

Then he got gubbed at York in the Nunthorpe. It was meant to a shootout between Lady Aurelia and Battaash, the Arabs against the Americans, Shadwell Stud contra mundum. Instead it was Marsha uber alles, edging out Lady Aurelia with Battaash nowhere. He just didn’t fire.

I was disappointed, so didn’t then bother watching him in the Abbaye. Obviously, he spanked everyone with four lengths to the nearest challenger. And the up-down-up went on. A disappointing Royal Ascot 2018, slinking in behind a great nemesis, Blue Point. Back to the highs at Goodwood again, another four length win. Nothing at York, then bushwhacked by Mabs Cross at Longchamp. 2019 the same, win at Haydock, lose at Ascot, win at Goodwood. He was unable to lay a glove on Blue Point in the King’s Stand Stakes.

Looking back, I think there is a common theme to his performances. Battaash is a horse of blazing speed. Very few horses are able to live with him hitting the gas. Courses which play to this advantage have become a killing ground for him. He can’t to be touched on the downhill. Goodwood is a perfect example. The five furlong course there is straight downhill, which allows him to barrel along using minimal effort and an efficient stride. Then Crowley lights the blue and white touchpaper and BANG, Battaash wins again.

But he is not tough as well as fast. He is a not an indomitable battler. Ascot is our opposite example. The straight course is a ‘stiff’ track, with the final few furlongs uphill. Battaash got turned over there twice by Blue Point, a real hardman who relished the extra lactic burn up the incline. In 2019, Blue Point did the Royal Ascot double, winning the King’s Stand Stakes over five furlongs and the Diamond Jubilee Stakes over six furlongs four days later. That is tough, a feat of recovery and will, not just a feat of sprint speed. Battaash was not that tough, and could never have run at six furlongs.

So that’s my thesis. Good, but not great. Blazing quick over a soft five, but not enough stamina and toughness to be truly legendary.

This might seem dismissive. After all, how many horses achieve anything like what Battaash has done over the course of his career? But it is worth distinguishing between good horses, really good horses, and true greatness. One of the worst things about modern commentary is the tendency to overpraise. Everyone is now a ‘legend’ or a ‘hero’ or a ‘champion’. We have a football tournament called the ‘Champions League’ where the two finalists had come third and fourth in the league the previous year. It was a great tournament, but it would be better without bullshit marketing hype. Great sport speaks for itself.

Battaash is a really good horse, a fantastic yardstick. Any horse that does better than him will have claims to true greatness. Next year, he might do even better. He might become great. But until then, let’s just appreciate him for what he is, a flawed, wonderful horse, mercurial, sometimes brilliant, but not in the top rank of champions. It is enough for him to be who he is.