'I couldn't give a stuff if it was a poor Derby - you try winning it'
Peter Thomas talks to the trainer 25 years on from Derby glory with Shaamit
If the judgement of the slide rule is to be believed, the evidence of the microscope to be treated with the same kind of reverence it receives in police procedural drama, then William Haggas was, in 1996, the trainer of a 'poor' Derby winner.
No matter that Shaamit announced himself as a champion on that heady Saturday in early June, or that his trainer produced the Class 5 median auction maiden winner off a 217-day break to run the race of his life against the cream of the Classic crop. In the cold final analysis, it wasn't much to write home about.
Except that the racehorse trainer doesn't view Derby winners the same way as the forensic historian. The opinions of those charged with establishing objective order in the realm of racing achievement will never quite chime with those whose job it is to marshal flesh and blood and bone on turf. Which may explain why Haggas is still a bit miffed, even 25 years on.
Read the full story
Read award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing, with exclusive news, interviews, columns, investigations, stable tours and subscriber-only emails.
Subscribe to unlock
- Racing Post digital newspaper (worth over £100 per month)
- Award-winning journalism from the best writers in racing
- Expert tips from the likes of Tom Segal and Paul Kealy
- Replays and results analysis from all UK and Irish racecourses
- Form study tools including the Pro Card and Horse Tracker
- Extensive archive of statistics covering horses, trainers, jockeys, owners, pedigree and sales data
Already a subscriber?Log in
Published on 28 May 2021inInterviews
Last updated 11:12, 28 May 2021
Copy- 'There was a moment of rage - but he's a magnificent horse and it suits me that he's passed under the radar'
- When Patrick Mullins met Jack Kennedy: 'You could say I've been lucky - they're just broken bones and they heal'
- Richard Hannon: 'When you're dead and buried the only things you're remembered by are your Classic winners'
- Paul Carberry: 'I jumped up on to the rafters. It tended to be all very strait-laced in those days, but I changed that'
- 'We’re like a Sunday League team running in an FA Cup final - we’re taking on the best with an £800 homebred'
- 'There was a moment of rage - but he's a magnificent horse and it suits me that he's passed under the radar'
- When Patrick Mullins met Jack Kennedy: 'You could say I've been lucky - they're just broken bones and they heal'
- Richard Hannon: 'When you're dead and buried the only things you're remembered by are your Classic winners'
- Paul Carberry: 'I jumped up on to the rafters. It tended to be all very strait-laced in those days, but I changed that'
- 'We’re like a Sunday League team running in an FA Cup final - we’re taking on the best with an £800 homebred'