Veteran Pirate plunders Nunthorpe prize
The nine-year-old gelding, the oldest horse to win at the highest level in Britain since the 1800s, was picking up a Group One on his 68th career start.
He had ended a two and a half year barren patch earlier this season when taking a minor event at Nottingham.
Even subsequent successes on a similar scale at Beverley and Newmarket could not have been enough to convince punters that yesterday would be the day for the 16-1 chance.
But with Seb Sanders riding at the top of his game and the testing conditions also in his favour, Bahamian Pirate scythed down the field in the final stages to catch pacesetting Airwave and hold the late challenges of The Tatling and One Cool Cat by a neck and a length.
It was the performance of the last-named horse that attracted most of the attention both before and after the race. Easy to back before a late rush of money saw the Irish challenger returned as 3-1 favourite, One Cool Cat’s participation in the race was in doubt throughout the day as his trainer Aidan O’Brien was seen pacing up and down the track assessing conditions.
Allowed to take his chance, One Cool Cat became detached in rear before swooping late to snatch third spot under Jamie Spencer.
Some punters who backed the favourite might feel it was not Spencer’s finest hour.
Forced to switch as Orientor hung left in front of him, the favourite had only the toiling Night Prospector behind as the field hit the furlong pole.
But aided by his rivals becoming tired in the conditions as a result of the rapid pace set by Fire Up The Band and the free-running Airwave, he was making ground hand over fist at the winning post.
However, if O’Brien was anything other than satisfied with the performance of the rider, then it wasn’t showing.
Indeed, as usual the Ballydoyle maestro seemed determined to shoulder all of the blame himself.
“How could I have got it so wrong with him earlier in the season, running him back over a mile after what happened in the Guineas?” he said. The pressure today was that I made such a mess of him.
“We knew he was a fast ground horse and it was a bit of a shock to him coming back to five furlongs on this ground.
“This horse is full of class. I don’t think the trip beat him, it was just the shock of coming back to five.
“He has Haydock and the Abbaye now and we would have to be delighted with how he ran today.
“He could not have done any more without winning. I was thrilled.
“He has done just great and fast ground is really his thing.
“I am really positive about what happened today.”
