A royal St Leger hope? 'Little superstar' Desert Hero 6-1 for Classic after Gordon Stakes success

Just six weeks after Desert Hero provided the King and Queen with a first winner at Royal Ascot he added a Group race to his CV with a tenacious display in the Gordon Stakes – and now connections have an eye on potential Classic glory.

Two days after masterfully landing the Goodwood Cup on the front-running Quickthorn, Tom Marquand displayed all his nous with an expertly judged ride on Desert Hero, biding his time at the back before cruising into contention.

It looked for a moment as if Marquand’s plan would be foiled as he sat motionless with nowhere to go, but as a gap opened on the inside he thrust his mount forward and Desert Hero dug deep to deny Chesspiece by a neck.

“He’s proven to be a little superstar of a horse,” said Marquand, who was always confident of success. “It’s been a fantastic story this season and it’s been a huge honour and a lot of fun to be a part of.”

Paddy Power were suitably impressed and cut the son of Sea The Stars to 6-1 (from 16-1) for Doncaster’s St Leger in September where he could bid to emulate Dunfermline, the last royal winner of the Classic in 1977.

Tom Marquand speaks with John Warren after Desert Hero's Gordon Stakes successCredit: Edward Whitaker

On whether he could get the extra two furlongs, Marquand said: “On that performance, a mile and six should be within his capabilities as long as he gets the first half right.

“It would be pretty special. It’s great to even have a horse who has the potential to go and run in it. Whether he ends up there, I don’t know, but it would be great and he’ll be a horse who you will at least know will put his best foot forward.”

Those battling qualities, displayed when fending off Valiant King in the King George V Stakes at Ascot after slicing through the pack and again in the Gordon, are what excites John Warren, the King and Queen’s racing and bloodstock adviser.

“The one thing I think that is always a joy for the amount of years I’ve been doing this is to have a horse who wants to do it and tries,” Warren said. “You saw his head down at Ascot, you saw him today, what you can rest assured is that everything that horse has ever done means he will throw his heart into it – he’s got that will.

“A 102 rating after Ascot meant we were asking, is he going to make enough of a leap? What will he go up now, seven or eight pounds, or more perhaps?

“Is that good enough to win a Classic? It depends on the opposition and what’s out there at the moment.

“Of course, none of us know whether he’ll stay a mile and three-quarters yet. I’ll chat with William, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’ll want to roll the dice and give it a go. There’s no downside in giving it a go so why not?”

The King and Queen were in attendance for all five days at Royal Ascot and their presence in British racing is not going to wane according to Warren, who said: "The King told me many years ago, and recently, that he was always going to be committed to take on the bloodstock portfolio, and true to his word he's been fascinated by it.

"The story is so wonderful for racing in particular as the Queen is so interested as well, so they can get so much pleasure together out of it, and a race like this at an amazing track like Goodwood really makes all their effort worthwhile."

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