What was you favourite racing moment of the year?
Sea Of Class (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) winning the G1 Irish Oaks. She is a seriously classy filly, and it was lovely to see William Haggas's patience being rewarded. Most of all, I thought James Doyle gave her a masterful ride, the way he resisted the temptation to use the whip showed a lot of courage. It was jockeyship of the highest level.
Name a horse that stood out for you in 2018?
Too Darn Hot (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), especially when winning the G1 Dewhurst S. His ability to quicken off such a strong cruising speed is a sight to behold. He still looked a green horse that day, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what he can achieve next year.
An outstanding achievement by a breeder, owner or trainer?
John Gosden can train any type of horse it would seem, and this year was proof of that. From the sprinting 2-year-olds like Calyx (GB) (Kingman {GB}) to the stayer Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), the way he brought Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) back from injury to win a second Arc and to win in America, and the progression of Roaring Lion (Kitten's Joy) throughout the season. It's training at the level of an art form, I think.
What is your big hope for 2019?
Personally speaking, I hope to train more winners, especially on more high-profile days. As a racing fan, I would love to see racing stars from further afield like Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock {Aus}), Almond Eye (Jpn) (Lord Kanaloa {Jpn}) and Redzel (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) travel over here to somewhere like Royal Ascot and compete against our best horses.
What's your New Year's resolution?
I would love to breed a winner on the racetrack. I have two horses in my yard that I bred myself so hopefully one of them will make this dream a reality before too long.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
