Haatem crowns a thrilling Royal week… just!

Well, that was close! Conceding three pounds to all his rivals – equivalent to a length-and-a-half over this 7f trip – Haatem resumed winning ways in the Group 3 Jersey Stakes after gallant (and narrow) defeats in the 2,000 Guineas and Irish 2,000 Guineas.

Chasing a stiff gallop set by our other contender in the race, the handsome Native American, Haatem hit the front with more than two furlongs still to run, but stuck his nose out in terrifically game fashion to withstand the onslaught of all-comers – the last of them, Frankel’s talented half-brother, Kikkuli.

Trainer Richard Hannon, interviewed in the winner’s enclosure in front of an elated Wathnan entourage claiming the owner’s fourth victory of the week, said, ‘It’s a Group 3 in name, but I think this Jersey was an awful lot more than it normally is. I’m sure a Group 1 is coming very soon.’

Later in the afternoon, Wathnan’s French raider Dark Trooper, trained by Alban de Mieulle, was just denied in the hyper-competitive Wokingham, the signature sprint handicap of the meeting. That left Wathnan Racing with a total of four wins, four seconds and three thirds from the meeting, behind only the Coolmore partners, whose admirable horses race in a variety of colours, on the leading owners’ list.