Champion Stakes Claimed by New Approach
Not many horses have the opportunity to retire from racing at the top of their game. New Approach was scheduled for retirement after the Champion Stakes no matter what the outcome, but this magnificent horse ended his horse racing career with a breathtaking performance. The Emirates Airline Champion Stakes was run on Champions Day at the Newmarket Racecourse, which had a racing lineup that included the Cesarewitch Handicap, group three, group two and group one racing events. Newmarket Racecourse is known for Champions Day, as it is one of the most popular days on the horse racing calendar, with the showstopper being the Champion Stakes.
Run over a distance of two thousand and twelve meters, for three year old horses and over, the Champion Stakes is a Group 1 event that was inaugurated in 1877 and has always attracted the most spectacular competitors. New Approach was most certainly one of those breathtaking competitors on Saturday, 18 October 2008. Foaled on 18 February 2005, the wonderful three year old has left a memorable horse racing career behind him in his two years on the track. In his 2007 campaign he won the Tyros Stakes, Futurity Stakes, National Stakes and Dewhurst Stakes, and has only lost three times during his career, still placing in the money. This year, New Approach has managed to bag the Epsom Derby, the Irish Champions Stakes, and setting a new record while winning the Champion Stakes.
Ridden by his regular jockey, Kevin Manning, New Approach and Upton Grey surged to the front of the field quite early in the race. With Upton Grey setting the pace, Manning waited patiently for his moment and then asked New Approach to take the lead, which he did in spectacular fashion, opening with tremendous speed and winning the Champion Stakes by six lengths. New Approach’s willingness to run and win was evident in the fact that manning did not use his crop once throughout the entire race. Trainer Jim Bolger, although a little disappointed that his star runner was retiring to stud, commented on his excitement of the victory by saying: “He was as near to perfect as you could get going to the start and was bombproof during the race. New Approach is the finest horse beyond a mile I have trained.”
Sheikh Mohammed has decided to enter New Approach into his breeding program at Dalham Hall Stud, as he is sired by the great Galileo and has managed to win numerous noteworthy stakes races. He will be joining Manduro, Teofilo and Authorised, and begin to enjoy his life as a champion retired racehorse and hopefully a successful sire.
