Stoute hits another six with masterful training display in Lockinge

It is a tale that has been told before and will be for as long as Sir Michael Stoute holds a training licence at Freemason Lodge stables in Newmarket.

A huge cricket fan who counts legendary West Indian bowler Michael Holding as a close friend, Stoute would not lose his wicket cheaply if his patience with racehorses was replicated at the crease.

The latest example of the former came in Newbury's premier Flat race – the £350,000 Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes – when the six-year-old Mustashry recorded a decisive success under Jim Crowley.

It is not known if the Hamdan Al Maktoum-owed Mustashry is a synonym for problematic in Arabic, but the journey he took to his biggest victory has been far from straightforward.

Mustashry (blue silks): strides clear to win the Lockinge Stakes under Jim CrowleyCredit: Alan Crowhurst

However, there is perhaps no finer man in Flat racing at conjuring an important win with a slow-burning thoroughbred than Stoute, famed for his ability to wait, block a few, wait a bit more and then knock one for six.

Outlining those issues, Angus Gold – Hamdan's long-serving racing manager and a fully paid-up member of the Stoute fan club – said: "It's a step up for the horse, but we didn't take him to the Breeders' Cup for the day out!

"He's always been a consistent horse at his level, but I'm not going to lie and say I thought he'd win a Group 1. I thought he was a lovely, tough Group 2 horse, but Jim said it was never in doubt. He won well in the end."

Behind every great trainer is a great team at home, which was not lost on Gold, who added: "Fair play to Sir Michael and the guys at the yard because he's been a real perseverance job. He's been plagued by splint troubles and we had to turn him out for three months at one stage, so he's tested everyone, but the team have done an unbelievable job.

"We had to geld him because he was so difficult to keep sound, but that's the joys of keeping older horses in training."

Those joys were not lost on Stoute's travelling head lad James Savage, who has spent 20 years with the 73-year-old, who was winning a record-extending eighth Lockinge and bagged a treble on the card with Crystal Ocean landing the Group 3 Aston Park Stakes and Queen Power enhancing her Investec Oaks claims in the Listed Haras de Bouquetot Fillies' Trial Stakes.

"There's a lot of work that's gone into this horse from everyone," said Savage. "He's had niggling things that have held him up when you want to get going, but you tend to get more of a reward when horses like this win."

As for the magic that sets Stoute apart, Savage continued: "Sending a horse like this to America for the Breeders' Cup would have made a man out of him. A lot of people would have thought that a strange decision, but he matured a lot and it brought him on.

"I still see things that surprise me – training performances like this – but I know he can do it, so it shouldn't really surprise me.

"It will give Sir Michael a lot of pleasure, but it will mean a lot for him for the team, especially our head girl Sarah Denniff, who minds him."

How's that for a training performance?

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