AS director of football at Leicester City, Jon Rudkin has done his share of scouting. But this was different. Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, Leicester’s billionaire owner, wanted to become involved in horseracing and Rudkin was charged with looking over a potential trainer.
He made an appointment at Andrew Balding’s yard and was impressed with what he saw. Srivaddhanaprabha now has a dozen horses with Balding including Donjuan Triumphant, one of the favourites for the William Hill Ayr Gold Cup.
While Leicester have made a slow start to their season, Balding is firmly set in the top 10 of the trainers’ championship, having passed the £2 million mark in prize money for the season and with a Group One winner, Here Comes When, who claimed the Sussex Stakes at the Glorious Goodwood meeting.
Beat The Bank, another of the Srivaddhanaprabha horses who run under the name of King Power Racing Co Ltd, has won three from four starts including a Group Three at Goodwood in the same week. Balding, reflecting on how it all started, said: “We were given a brief to find what might be fun Saturday horses. Donjuan Triumphant was one that our agent negotiated to purchase along with Beat The Bank and another horse – so we did pretty well.
“The chairman is very enthusiastic, loves his racing, is passionate about his horses and really enjoys it.”
Enthusiasm has sometimes been the downfall of Donjuan Triumphant. He won a Group Two at Maisons-Laffitte in France when trained by Richard Fahey and was second in last year’s Group One Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville, but has been known to blow races at the start.
“He likes to get on with it and the one problem we have is that he can get a bit restless in the stalls and miss the break,” Balding said. “He did that at Goodwood, in the Stewards’ Cup. He was ninth, beaten three-and-a-half lengths, and I think it cost him the race.
“But he was much better when he won at Haydock last time. If he doesn’t fluff his lines at the start and he can get away on terms he has a sound chance.”
Balding does not have many runners at Ayr on the grounds that it is a long way to go “so you only want to go there if you’ve got a chance”.
That is backed up by his seven winners in the past five years coming at a strike-rate of 19 per cent, but the name of Balding is prominent on the Ayr Gold Cup roll of honour. Balding’s uncle Toby won with Green Ruby (1986) and his father trained both Lochsong (1992) and Grangeville (1999).
Balding won the Gold Cup himself with Highland Colori in 2013 and he likes Donjuan Triumphant’s chances.
“He does pick up a 5lb penalty for that win at Haydock but, with these big handicaps now, you’re not giving more than 10lbs away top to bottom,” Balding said. “That favours the higher-rated horses and he loves soft ground. He was a class act at times for Richard Fahey so a 5lb penalty is not going to stop him being competitive in an Ayr Gold Cup.”
Srivaddhanaprabha will have divided loyalties on Saturday, with Leicester playing Liverpool at the King Power Stadium, but he will be hoping he can win both home and away.
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