King George V Stakes winner Merchant graduated to G3 honours with a tenacious victory in the HKJC World Pool Gordon Stakes for William Haggas and Tom Marquand.
In a race started by tape due to the threat of lightning, the 6/5 favourite had to play catch-up in deteriorating ground conditions as Wimbledon Hawkeye (15/2) got first run over two furlongs out. The duo were locked together approaching the line, with Merchant prevailing by a nose.
The HKJC World Pool Gordon Stakes is a recognised trial for the G1 St Leger, although the Highclere Thoroughbred Racing-owned winner may instead remain over a mile and a half.
Haggas said: “I wasn’t sure if Merchant had won. Roger Varian walked down the stands with me and said he had. It was tough and the horse had to show lots of guts. James [Owen] has got Wimbledon Hawkeye back to his best and that horse ran a fantastic race on this ground. Probably, James will say he was an unfortunate loser, but something had to lose and something had to win, and we were lucky this time.
“I don’t know yet about the St Leger. We will obviously talk to Harry [Herbert of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing] about it. My gut feeling is no because I don’t think it did Desert Hero much good long-term. We had planned to go to the Voltigeur with Merchant, but he has had a race today and will need at least 10 days going very quietly before we decide what to do.”
Marquand said: “I needed a brave horse there. Wimbledon Hawkeye got a nice run down the hill and kept building momentum. Merchant hated the ground. I kept thinking I was in trouble, but he kept gritting his teeth. He kept digging a bit more and has done well to have his nose in front at the line because he was struggling on ground. The second horse is a good horse who enjoyed the surface and put them to the sword – as they do in good races. Merchant has had to step up today, but he has duly done so, which is great.”
Asked if his mount could be a St Leger contender, Marquand said: “I think so. The trouble is if he didn’t like that ground, the likelihood of getting a fast ground St Leger is slim enough. If it were to happen, I would thoroughly be looking forward to riding him.”
Harry Herbert of Highclere Thoroughbred Racing said: “Merchant has the most fantastic action, so that could not have been easy for him. It is a great thrill to win a Gordon Stakes. He is very special. Dare I say it, but he is the best we have had since Harbinger. I am not comparing him to Harbinger but he is a very good colt.
“That was a hard race. We will see if he still runs at York but that would be the preferred plan to go to the Great Voltigeur Stakes. The trainer is not that keen on the St Leger. I don’t think he would like to send him a mile and six furlongs. If he happened to win the Voltigeur, we might be dreaming of an Arc.’’
Andrew Balding said of the third Windlord: “I am pleased with that. We were just trying further for the first time, and he has stayed well. He is very versatile in terms of ground and is performing to a high level.”