Latest news with #PaulMulrennan
The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Goldie cool on idea of Goodwood for American Affair
American Affair was, though, Goldie's first ever Group One winner after several near-misses and he now has more big targets in his sights for the Paul Mulrennan-ridden five-year-old. American Affair gets a well-deserved pat from Paul Mulrennan (John Walton/PA) 'It's just started to sink in. He's come out of the race well and he's been out on the gallops yesterday and today,' said Goldie on Sunday. 'The stars aligned, but that is quite often the case with good horses. I still don't think he's quite as good as Orientor was, but I probably had him early enough in my career and I learned a lot from him. Fortunately for me we kept him an entire which looks very shrewd now! 'We learned a lot from the likes of him, Jack Dexter and Hawkeyethenoo. I'm looking forward to seeing where this horse will peak.' Looking to the future Goldie does not believe Goodwood's downhill five furlongs is totally suitable in the King George Stakes. The King with winning rider Paul Mulrennan (Andrew Matthews/PA) 'Five furlongs up a hill at Ascot is the perfect fit for him, I always thought it might be, so I'm not sure Goodwood will suit him going downhill,' he said. 'Otherwise we will wait for York and the Nunthorpe where we might have to take on a two-year-old or two which will be interesting.' Even further afield, American Affair now has an all-expenses paid trip to the Breeders' Cup to look forward to. 'We'll have to have a serious think about the Breeders' Cup if they are going to pay. I can't think of any other horse trained in Scotland to have run at it!' said Goldie.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
FOR KING AND COUNTRY: Joy for Jim Goldie as American Affair becomes the first Scottish-trained winner at Royal Ascot in 17 years
Scottish trainer Jim Goldie savoured an historic triumph after the jet-heeled American Affair became his first Royal Ascot winner in the King Charles III Stakes. It was the first winner there to be trained north of the border since 2008 when Big Timer won the Wokingham. Before that, the last reported Scottish-trained Royal Ascot success was in 1841 when Lanercost won the Gold Cup. Lanarkshire-based Goldie has been training since 1994 and has a CV including wins in Goodwood's Stewards Cup and the Grand Sefton Chase over Aintree's Grand National fences. The one thing that was missing was a Group One performer, but he has now emphatically ticked that box after his outstanding stable jockey Paul Mulrennan harnessed American Affair's blistering speed and handled him expertly on his way to victory. An 11/1 shot, American Affair stuck to his guns in the closing stages to repel the challenge of Frost At Dawn. It was Mulrennan's first Royal Ascot win since 2010, but the first time Goldie had managed to get onto the podium. 'This is very sweet,' said Goldie after realising his life's ambition. 'He has just been fantastic. We started him off at seven furlongs but, since he got back to five furlongs, he's got better and better. Funnily enough, I was quite confident he would do it here. It all fell into place and, aye, it's great. It means lot. 'I knew he had the talent. Various things went wrong for him at Haydock last month, so we tweaked them. I knew he was one of the fastest horses in the race and it is just how you control that power. We came down to Ascot a day early and got him relaxed.' Mulrennan, who was complimented by King Charles for his level of horsemanship after receiving his trophy, said: 'I am a northern jockey. I am riding Monday-to-Friday horses. To get here, just to come here and have a ride here is special. This is our Olympics. 'You're riding with Ryan Moore, Christoph Soumillon and William Buick, the best jockeys in the world. The best horses, trainers, owners are all here – it's a big stage. It is hard enough to get rides here, so it's nice to come down here and have a ride, but to win a Group 1 here is very special. 'The last time I had a Royal Ascot winner [Dandino], I had jet black hair! Jim has been very good to me. He is a master trainer. He can get inside a horse's head. He is not afraid to tweak things around, run them over different trips and that's what I've learned off him – it is an amazing sport.' Winning breeder and part-owner John McGrandles said: 'American Affair is probably the only horse here with a Glasgow postcode in his passport! This horse is the biggest winner we've had, yes. And the horse's stable name is Charlie and he's won the King Charles!'
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Field of Gold sparkles on opening day of Royal Ascot
Jockey Paul Mulrennan says he is older and wiser after ending a 15 year wait for his second Royal Ascot winner (Ben STANSALL) Field of Gold put to bed who is the best three-year-old colt over a mile as the Irish 2000 Guineas winner eased to victory in the St James's Palace Stakes on the opening day of Royal Ascot on Tuesday. Colin Keane made light of the pressure of being recently appointed first jockey for the Saudi owners Juddmonte as he surged clear halfway down the straight on the favourite in front of packed stands on a baking hot day. Advertisement Keane's predecessor Kieran Shoemark had lost the job after what was judged, by the father and son training duo John and Thady Gosden, to be a poor ride in finishing second behind Ruling Court in the English 2000 Guineas in May. This time round Keane made no mistake and had four lengths to spare over French 2000 Guineas winner Henri Matisse with another four lengths back to Ruling Court. "Good horses make it easy," said Keane. "I do not know when three Guineas winners last clashed in this but my word he was good." His impressive performance came a few hours after the day's traditional opening Royal Procession, celebrating its 200th anniversary, with King Charles III and Queen Camilla in the lead carriage. Advertisement One of those in the carriages, the Duke of Wellington, was a nod to the first one as his ancestor Napoleon Bonaparte's nemesis accompanied George IV in 1825. The opener of the five-day meeting set the stage brilliantly with a thriller of a finish. Australian jockey Mark Zahra on Docklands just got the nod over favourite Rosallion in the Group One Queen Anne Stakes. Zahra showed typical Australian bravura at having dropped his whip in the finishing stages on Docklands, who was second in the same race last year. "Having read up on the whip rules here I thought I better throw it away!" quipped the two-time Melbourne Cup-winning jockey. Advertisement "What an amazing feeling to ride a winner at Royal Ascot, unbelievable," he added as he punched the air regularly on the way back to the winners enclosure. Zahra said Royal Ascot had originally been a sideshow to his European trip. "This just started as a stop-off on the way to a trip to Ibiza, so to turn into a massive win like this is very special," he said. - 'Older and a bit wiser' - For trainer Harry Eustace it was his third Royal Ascot winner -- Docklands's second as he won the Britannia Handicap two years ago. "It is pretty sweet," said Eustace. "I am very appreciative to my team who work so hard and is why I am standing where I am today. Advertisement "Also to the owners, who turned down a huge offer after he won the Britannia." Unfortunately Zahra's fellow Australian, equine star Asfoora, flattered to deceive in her defence of the Group One King Charles III Stakes. She finished in a dead heat for fifth -- victory going to veteran Scottish trainer Jim Goldie with American Affair. For jockey Paul Mulrennan it ended a 15-year drought at the meeting, his hair having turned grey in that period. "This win is extra special, I am a bit older and a bit wiser," said Mulrennan, who enjoyed a good laugh with King Charles III at the presentation. Advertisement For Goldie it was his biggest win since he first began training, close to Glasgow, in 1994. "I've trained the family for two generations so it's very sweet," said Goldie. "It's great, it means a lot," he added after a fair amount of prompting. Gstaad gave Aidan O'Brien his 11th win in the Group Two Coventry Stakes -- the race which got him off the mark in the meeting way back in 1997 when Harbour Master won -- triumphing in impressive style. O'Brien sucked in his cheeks before he broke into a broad smile as Gstaad would be considered his second best two-year-old behind Albert Einstein, who has had to miss the meeting. "That was quite a performance, absolutely delighted," said O'Brien. "He is a very good horse but I would say Albert Einstein is something else." pi/lp
The Herald Scotland
08-06-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Goldie sweet on Ascot aim for American Affair
However, Goldie believes a lack of early cover which forced him to run too keen, and then meeting trouble in running when he eventually did get in behind horses are enough of an excuse to believe he could have made up the two and three-quarter lengths that he was beaten. 'He's still on target for Ascot,' said Goldie. 'I think we needed a bit of cover and we didn't get it straight away, and then when he did get it he (Paul Mulrennan) couldn't get out when he needed to. 'He's one of these horses, we discovered when he won the Portland, that he is probably 10lb better if you can switch him off so you need to get cover. 'He likes getting towed along but mentally he then switches off. If you don't get proper cover, mentally he doesn't switch off and he ends up running with the choke open and that is exactly what happened. 'We were disappointed, obviously, but it wasn't that bad a run and we've still got a horse with a big engine and we'll try again another day. 'Look at last year's Derby winner (City Of Troy), when he ran in the Guineas Aidan O'Brien said he lost his race in the stalls because he got a bit upset and it turned out he was right – then he went to America and it went wrong again. 'They are highly-tuned animals and if they don't get into an absolute rhythm they rarely win. You can't get it right all the time. 'He's good enough for that level, I've never doubted that, and there's usually one or two at Ascot who go blasting off and if you are drawn next to them that helps.'
Rhyl Journal
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Temple target awaits York hero American Affair
Winner of a valuable prize at Thirsk and the Portland at Doncaster last season, he was also placed in several other decent races before disappointing when favourite for the Ayr Gold Cup. The five-year-old was rated just 70 at the start of 2024, but following a comeback victory at Musselburgh last month, he lined up on the Knavesmire off 98 and even that elevated mark was nowhere near enough to stop Paul Mulrennan charting a path to the front with relative ease. Goldie, speaking away from the track, said: 'That was first class, he couldn't have done it any better and he's obviously very good. 'I think he's just developing, that's where the improvement has come from. Paul took him back out of the stalls as he can idle when he hits the front, but the Portland tactics worked well. He's quite exciting.' Jm Jungle travelled smoothly to grab the lead on the Knavesmire, but he just acted as a target for the 7-2 favourite American Affair, who was good value for the winning margin of a length. Paddy Power make the winner a 33-1 shot from 100-1 for the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot and he could bid to earn himself a trip to the summer showpiece meeting at Haydock on Saturday week. 'He's entered at Royal Ascot but I think we'll take him to Haydock first for the Temple Stakes,' the trainer added. 'I think we're just enjoying riding the wave, as they say. Jack Dexter was rated 114 at one stage, this lad will be rated over 100 now so he's still got a long way to go, but if he wins the Temple then he won't be far off. 'I think he was beaten by the trip at Ayr, he looks to be a real five-furlong horse. I've had three generations of the family now, which is nice.' Old Cock (9-2) finished with a flourish to claim a last-gasp victory in the Oakmere Homes Hambleton Handicap. Ed Bethell's three-time winner had a point to prove after trailing home last of 22 in the Lincoln at Doncaster on his seasonal debut, but swooped late to deny 5-2 favourite Sisyphean by half a length in the hands of Callum Rodriguez. Bethell said: 'That was good, I'm very pleased with him. He's very good on his day and I thought he looked a million walking around the paddock. 'I was never confident because it is York but I had a strong hope, put it that way. Who knows where the ceiling is for him? 'The trainer messed up in the Lincoln, he got a rush of blood early in the year and I ran him too soon. This has been the plan ever since. 'He's in the Hunt Cup (at Royal Ascot) but I'll speak to the owners before making a final decision.' First Legion (6-1) was a second impressive debut winner in two days on the Knavesmire for Richard Hannon in the Frank Whittle Partnership Novice Stakes. Also in the colours of owner Zhang Yuesheng like Ballistic Missile, his retained rider Shane Foley was aboard for the length-and-a-half victory. Foley said: 'He breezed very well and was bought with a big reputation (500,000 guineas) and Richard liked him. 'He's gone through the race well, he was a little bit keen in the middle part of the race but he picked up good. 'Faster ground will suit him. It rode a nice race.' Paddy Power introduced him at 12-1 for the Coventry Stakes. William Haggas' Merchant then won the mile-and-a-half Sky Bet Handicap by two and a half lengths as the 5-2 favourite under Tom Marquand. 'We're thrilled, William has always liked this horse,' said Harry Herbert of owners Highclere. 'He's always been a lovely work in progress, he's laid back and almost lazy at home, here he is over the right trip for the first time. 'He was pretty well handicapped and he's the sort of horse we'd love to think we could get to Royal Ascot for the King George V with.'
