'As a two-year-old his behaviour was probably the worst I've dealt with'

There will be no faster or more naturally talented horse in next Friday's Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes than Battaash, but he has never been straightforward and plenty will be prepared to oppose him following two previous defeats in the race.

Jockey Jim Crowley once said that riding Battaash was "like sitting on a lit fuse, waiting for the explosion", while owner Sheikh Hamdan's racing manager Angus Gold described him as "an aggressive little person in terms of attitude" and added that at Royal Ascot as a two-year-old he was so angry that he "behaved appallingly and tried to kill Paul Hanagan in the stalls".

Hanagan will not forget that day in a hurry, and nor will Craig Witheford, who was with Battaash at the start and has been with him every other time he has raced, including for those two defeats at York.