There were a couple of Aussie elements to the brilliant victory of Lazzat in the Group I Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (6f) at Royal Ascot overnight as he came to our shores last year and very nearly won the $10million Golden Eagle.
The talented son of Territories was subsequently acquired by Qatari based Sheikh Tamim bin amad Al Thani's Wathnan Racing in the lead up to Royal Ascot under the guidance of Australian bloodstock expert Olly Tait, who owns Twin Hills Stud and formerly had a key role as chief operating officer for Darley in the Northern Hemisphere.
Tait has been instrumental in the rise of Wathnan Racing as a force in global racing over the past two years and they had five winners at the Royal Ascot carnival this year in total to equal Coolmore with Lazzat the star.
After his purchase, Lazzat remained with his original trainer Jerome Reynier, who brought him to Australia last year.
He had a conditioning run at Saint Cloud in March when he finished fourth and then won his next start, a Listed sprint at Chantilly over 1200m by five and a half lengths prompting his sale to Wathnan Racing and a raid on Royal Ascot.
Ridden by Wathan Racing’s retained rider James Doyle, Lazzat led and set the pace with Japanese contender Satono Reve throwing down a big challenge to be beaten half a length with speedy mares Flora of Bermuda and Nighteyes in third and fourth.
Aussie bred Storm Boy faded to finish out of the placings.
Excitement and mayhem followed as Lazzat took fright and dumped James Doyle before galloping around Royal Ascot, taking a lap of honour on his own before being captured and returned to the mounting yard.
“Lazzat has got a really high cruising speed, and James [Doyle, jockey] didn't know what to expect because he didn't know him. I told him, you know how you won the first race today? Just do the same,” said Jerome Reynier.
“He rode him with plenty of confidence. He could be the best sprinter in Europe, and maybe in the world one day. I saw all the races from the Japanese horse and he is a late challenger, so I thought it was going to be tough to respond to him, because I didn't know how much petrol he would have left, but he was on top of it today.
“Physically and mentally with all the experience he has got travelling all over the place, he has matured.”
Wathnan Racing also had the third place-getter Flora of Bermuda, so the race was a triumph for the operation.
"It's been an amazing week and that has capped it off," said Richard Brown of Blandford Bloodstock, who is also a key adviser for Wathnan Racing.
"What an amazing horse race, he's locked up with the Japanese horse there and they've gone a long way clear in a six-furlong sprint. That was an absolutely phenomenal race to watch and to be on the lucky side is just amazing; what a horse. Huge credit to Nurlan Bizakov who bred the horse and has a lot of the family, we're just very lucky they sold him to us."
Now a two time Group I winner having won the Deauville Prix Maurice de Gheest last year, Lazzat was bred by his original owner Nurlan Bizakov and is the first winner from Lastochka, a winning grand-daughter of Group I Newmarket One Thousand Guineas winner Sleepytime.
The four year-old gelding is the best of 18 stakes-winners for his sire Territories, a Group I winning son of Invincible Spirit that shuttled to Darley Australia for five seasons and is now standing in India.
He also added to the success this week of Epsom Derby winning sire Australia, who sired his dam Lastochka and also sired the filly Cercene to win the Group I Coronation Stakes.
