The horse is the star: never forget It. When trainers are excelling and jockeys are dazzling, it is only possible thanks to the efforts of the animals who give everything.
And how Trawlerman, the latest winner of a race that dates back to 1807, has given everything. His 21-race career began on a dank November night, at Chelmsford, in November 2020 when nobody was allowed on track due to the pandemic; yesterday, 65,718 flooded through Ascot’s turnstiles.
Over the course of five years, for six different jockeys, Trawlerman, trained in Newmarket by John and Thady Gosden for owners Godolphin, has covered 38-and-a-quarter miles in competition; he’s raced in Saudi Arabia, Dubai three times and had earned more than £1million for his efforts.
This latest test, however, was the one that would determine his place in the pantheon. History awaits those who succeed in Ascot’s Gold Cup, those who fail in this two-and-a-half-mile war quickly fade from the memory; thanks to a relentless display of galloping, Trawlerman will never be forgotten.
He did this the hard way – and how. William Buick, his jockey, sprung out of the starting stalls as quickly as jack comes out of a box and immediately put his foot to the accelerator: 33mph, 35mph, up to 36mph as he charged past the crowded stands. Sent off the 85/40 favourite, he never saw another rival.
‘Trawlerman just goes off,’ said John Gosden, greeting back his fifth winner of an extraordinary week. ‘I said to William: “What did you do?” and he said: “I threw the reins at him! He can judge pace better than me!” and off they went together. He’s an out-and-out galloper.
Seven year-old Trawlerman is the latest winner of the Gold Cup, a race dating back to 1807
King Charles and Queen Camilla congratulated Buick after he rode Trawlerman to victory
He has raced in Saudi Dubai three times and had earned more than £1million for his efforts
‘William judged it perfectly – it is not an easy thing to do over two and a half miles. If anyone is going to go by him, they will know they have been in a race but they never got to him. He is a wonderful old horse, and a great team look after him. He is a favourite, part of the furniture really.’
Buick, not surprisingly, was exultant. Just as elated, though, was Frankie Dettori, who had ridden Trawlerman eight times but watched this like a proud father from the parade ring and no wonder, his old pal had covered the distance in 4:15.07, shattering the course record.
Dettori was telling anyone who would listen that a seven-length drubbing of Illinois – the only slight disappointment for Aidan O’Brien on a day when he saddled three winners – was well deserved, as he had danced every dance, a loveable heavyweight like Frank Bruno in his heyday.
Some may quibble and ask whether this would have happened had Kyprios, the champion who had flattened Trawlerman here 12 months ago, not suffered a career-ending injury but that only serves to prove what a superb achievement it has been to keep this seven-year-old enthusiastic for so long.
‘The Gold Cup is an extraordinary race,’ Buick enthused. ‘It is an extreme distance at Royal Ascot – this is an incredible place. This is the greatest week of horseracing. Trawlerman went down so narrowly in the race last year, so to get it right this year means the world.
‘He’s really what you want in a two-and-a-half-mile race. I did not have to touch the brakes once. He was on autopilot; he knows his own speed and stays well, so I was just a passenger. When you get into the last half-mile, that is when Trawlerman comes into his own.’
Buick was exultant. Just as elated was Frankie Dettori, who had ridden Trawlerman eight times
‘The Gold Cup is an extraordinary race,’ Buick enthused. ‘It is an extreme distance at Ascot
O’Brien, always magnanimous in defeat, provided the context. Illinois, the valiant runner up, had finished seven lengths clear of 28/1 shot Dubai Future but bridging the gap to Trawlerman was a bridge too far at this stage.
‘It shows how good Kyprios was, doesn’t it? as Trawlerman had been second to him a couple of times,’ O’Brien noted. A few yards away, cameras were clicking and a bay horse was guzzling out of bucket of water rather than being paraded for the crowd.
‘The priority is the horse,’ said one Ascot official. How fitting those words were.
