Hills backing Field Of Gold to emulate exploits of Haafhd

Richard Hills believes it will take a very smart horse to prevent Field Of Gold from taking Haafhd’s mantle as the last Craven Stakes winner to win the 2000 Guineas.

Hills was on board the chestnut colt, trained by his father, Barry, to win both races in 2004 in his role as retained rider for the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum.

For some reason, despite the Craven being seen as the best trial for the Guineas, no other horse has repeated the feat, although Masar did win the Craven and the Derby having been placed in the Guineas in 2018.

“Winning a Classic on a horse trained by my dad was as good as it got, and it was special given his breeding was pure Shadwell,” said Hills. “There was a lot of history involved given Al Bahathri (winner of the Irish 1,000 Guineas and Coronation Stakes) was his dam.

“I hadn’t realised that he was the last Craven winner to win the Guineas, though.

“I was talking to John Gosden (trainer of Field Of Gold alongside his son, Thady) the other day and I told him what Lester Piggott told me, any horse who wins the Craven by more than three lengths is never out of the first three in the Guineas.

“It’s strange because people still view the Craven as the key trial. Haafhd won the Craven easily and he won the Guineas pretty easily as well.

“I don’t know why there hasn’t been another since Haafhd, fashion and everything else I suppose, but I was really impressed with John’s horse, the way he travelled and quickened up.

“For me there’s going to have to be a very good horse to beat him on the day. The benefit of having a run, especially for colts, is massive. We always liked to give them a run, as like Sheikh Hamdan used to say, they might be hiding something. I think having a run is a huge advantage and it was a taking performance in the Craven.”

Haafhd went on to finish a close fourth in the St James’s Palace Stakes but was then well beaten in the Sussex before seeing off a stacked field on his first run over 10 furlongs in the Champion Stakes.

“I’ll be honest, when he won the Craven he was quite a character and when I pulled up he had a buck and a kick, so I said to Sheikh Hamdan there was plenty more to come from him over a mile and a quarter, but Sheikh Hamdan loved his milers and thinking of a stud career kept him at a mile,” said Hills.

“When we did step him up to a mile and a quarter, he won the Champion Stakes in good style. He was a good horse, but he wasn’t very big – it didn’t stop him running, though.”

Hills also won the 1000 Guineas three times through Harayir (1995), Lahan (2000) and Ghanaati (2009), all in the blue and white of Sheikh Hamdan’s Shadwell operation.

“I only rode Harayir once. Well twice actually, because the Major (Dick Hern) liked to get a picture afterwards of his Classic winners so I sat on her in the yard and that was it!” said Hills.

“Poor Willie (Carson, Sheikh Hamdan’s first jockey at the time) he was always going to ride Harayir, but I think John Dunlop persuaded him to ride Aqaarid and they were first and second. That was my lucky day, for a young fella in a black cap – it had a major influence on my career that win.

“Lahan was the best filly I ever rode. It was such a shame she went wrong, she got cast in her box and suffered a fracture. The way she won the Guineas was amazing, she went through that field like they weren’t there. I said to John (Gosden) I’d never ridden a horse like it, we missed out on so much.

“Ghanaati was very tough. She’d only won a maiden, but she stuck it out and it was like riding a colt. I thought she was better in the Coronation at Royal Ascot where she beat a good field. She’s been a good mare, she’s retired now but had some nice ones.”