Strap yourselves in and don't blink - it's time for sprint sensation Battaash

British racing has served up a treat in the last few days – and, rest assured, it is not about to stop.

We started with Enable on Saturday, witnessing the queen of the sport back to her mesmerising best with a historic third King George VI and Queen Elizabeth win. Then it was the turn of Stradivarius with a tough, hardy performance as he conquered the staying division once again in the Goodwood Cup.

And now a different type of equine brilliance, Battaash, has his own shot at extending his winning streak in a race he has dominated in recent years. He may have faltered once or twice over the years and earned a reputation as not the most dependable of short-priced favourites, but never at Goodwood.

For all he may be just as tough as Enable and Stradivarius, this is a horse whose most potent weapon is a galvanising amount of speed.

That ferocious turn of foot has put many a Group 1 race to bed throughout the six-year-old’s career, and is the defining trait which has led to his superiority over his sprinting rivals.

Perhaps no race suits this blisteringly quick ball of energy quite like the King George Qatar Stakes (3.15), which may be why he is seeking a fourth straight win of his own.

As a downhill five furlongs, this is a race defined by pace. When runners break from the stalls they have to be quick, they have to find a position in a flash or it is gone, and when the jockeys ask for that finishing effort, it has to come at the perfect time.

Battaash wins the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, his third Group 1Credit: Edward Whitaker

There are no second chances. This sprint, more than any other in the Group-race calendar, is defined by acceleration, which makes it a match made in heaven for Battaash.

In 2017 this race was the making of him. He charged away from Profitable and made a field of Europe’s top sprinters look pretty ordinary. The following season it was even more explosive and his hat-trick bid in 2019 was never in doubt.

This outstanding son of Dark Angel has already done more than any other horse to elevate the status of one of the signature races at Glorious Goodwood.

He is already the most successful horse in the history of this famous sprinting event and lines up against six rivals as he once more races at a course and a meeting with which his name has become synonymous.

Enable may have won her third King George as easily as her odds predicted, but the heart-in-mouth success of Stradivarius was a reminder that these top races are no penalty kicks. And Battaash faces top-quality opposition and new challengers for his beloved Goodwood crown.

John Quinn’s young pretender Liberty Beach was a winner of the Molecomb Stakes over course and distance last season and is in receipt of 12lb from Battaash in age and sex allowances. She is developing into a top performer over the minimum trip and is sure to put it up to the heavyweight.

Liberty Beach: key challenger to BattaashCredit: Edward Whitaker

Glass Slippers, an emphatic winner of the Prix de l'Abbaye last season, also takes her chance looking to continue the excellent run of the Kevin Ryan stable. She finished fifth behind Battaash in the King’s Stand but things are in her favour today. She carried just 3lb less at the royal meeting, but that difference is more than doubled here. Giving 8lb to an Abbaye winner is no easy feat.

There is also an unknown quantity too in the form of French raider Ken Colt, representing Fabrice Chappet. The five-year-old slammed his rivals in Listed grade at Chantilly last month and makes his first start in Britain.

He beat Simon and Ed Crisford’s Al Raya that day, an improving three-year-old who has since finished a short-head second at York. She reopposes and is another who could progress. Ornate and Dubai Station also feature.

By the time Crowley gets the leg up on Battaash he could be on the crest of a wave. This one-time journeyman jumps jockey has had a breakout year at the top table with six winners at Royal Ascot and produced a masterclass on Mohaather in Wednesday's Sussex Stakes.

Britannia winner Khaloosy (2.15) and Sandown scorer Montatham (2.45) give him obvious chances of yet more joy in the famous blue and white silks of Sheikh Hamdan which have enjoyed so much success this season.

But make no mistake, this is a day that revolves around one horse.

Khaloosy: Brittania Stakes scorer was one of three homebred winners for Hamdan Al Maktoum's Shadwell operationCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Battaash comes here in winning form. It could be argued he arrives in better form than ever. He had previously visited Goodwood after back-to-back second-place finishes behind Blue Point in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot but, with that rival out of the picture, Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s star sprinter finally had his day in the sun at the Royal meeting.

That win completed a rare sprinting treble on his glittering CV, Battaash now being the first horse to capture Europe’s big three five-furlong Group 1 races – the King’s Stand, Nunthorpe and Abbaye – since the outstanding Lochsong in 1994.

So strap yourself in and prepare for something special because it will be over in a flash, especially if Battaash is in top form.

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