Simcock rues one that got away as Spear frustrations grow

Twenty-four hours on from Champions Day and David Simcock's joy at Sheikhzayedroad's victory had washed through to the extent there was a nagging frustration it could have been an even better day had the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes played out differently for close third Lightning Spear.

Such is a trainer's lot, when disappointments are far more frequent than successes, but it is a reflection of the level of Simcock's frustration at Lightning Spear's staying-on third after being held up in rear that he is even aware of it at all after his biggest success of the season.

Simcock, who returned home from Ascot, watched the replays and then got an early night ahead of morning stables, said: "With Lightning Spear I'm just extremely frustrated. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but in a different scenario I think we could have definitely been closer.