Scottish speedball American Affair bounced back to form to claim top honours in the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood.
Jim Goldie’s stable star won the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer, but missed the remainder of the 2025 season through injury.
A second-place finish behind the reopposing Night Raider in Haydock’s Temple Stakes in May suggested he retained a good level of his ability, but having trailed home last of all when defending his Ascot title and since come up short in a Listed race at York, he was a 12-1 shot for his latest Group Two assignment.
Always up with the pace in the group that raced closest to the stands rail, American Affair finished off strongly in the hands of his regular partner Paul Mulrennan to get up and beat Rumstar and Time For Sandals down the middle of the track, with Australian raider Asfoora running her best race for a while in fourth.
Goldie senior stayed closer to home, but his son, George, said: “My dad is at Musselburgh, we couldn’t both come here, but I think he’ll be sorry to have missed out!
“My daughter rides him every day, he’s a lovely-natured horse and he’s obviously very talented.
“We had faith he’d be back to this level, we’ve been happy with him at home but things were interrupted by the injury he had at the back end of last year.
“This year it has been a case of building him back up to his best, he showed a glimmer at Haydock three runs ago, but Ascot was a bit of a disaster – he just pulled too hard.
“He ran well at York when he was drawn badly, so we were coming here very hopeful. He’s been getting back into that flow of racing properly and finishing his race off.
“We were hoping today was going to suit him better, we were coming here very hopeful.”
On future plans, he added: “The plan is to go for the Nunthorpe now, then maybe the Curragh or he could go up to six (furlongs) for the Haydock Sprint Cup.
“We’ve not entered him in the Abbaye, the Flying Five at the Curragh after the Nunthorpe is more likely.”
Weighing-room stalwart Mulrennan said: “He’s done everything right today so, touch wood, he comes back from this good. We’ll enjoy today, but we’ve got the Nunthorpe and possibly America would be nice.
“At this stage of the game I’ve probably got more years behind me than in front of me, but I feel I’m still going strong. It’s very competitive, it’s hard. I’ve only got one ride down here this week, but we’ve made it count.
“I’ve got my driver with me, Adele (wife). The last time I won it was on Moviesta, Adele drove me then. I’ve won this race twice and I probably should have won it twice again – Easton Angel probably should have won and Moviesta another year was unlucky, so it’s been an unlucky race for me and a lucky race for me, but we got it right today.”
Wendy McGrandles of Barraston Racing, who own American Affair with Goldie, said: “He’s had one or two excuses and we always felt that he was as good as he was last year. It’s once in a lifetime for us, small breeders.
“I remember him as a foal and thinking we could maybe send him eventing if he wasn’t fast enough to go racing. He was broken in to go eventing because we weren’t sure whether he would be big enough or fast enough to be a racehorse. He can always do that as a second career!”
Burke eyes American trip for Shayem after Thoroughbred success
Karl Burke is eyeing a trip to America with Shayem after he denied the fast-finishing favourite Talk Of New York in the HKJC World Pool Thoroughbred Stakes.
Having finished third behind Wednesday’s Sussex Stakes one-two Bow Echo and Gstaad in the St James’s Palace at Royal Ascot, this Group Three contest looked a gilt-edged opportunity for Charlie Appleby’s Talk Of New York to get back on the winning trail and he was priced up accordingly as the 2-5 market leader.
But while his stablemate Catullus was deployed in a pacemaking role in an attempt to ensure a sound gallop, the favourite was still keen during the early exchanges under William Buick and it then took him a while to find top gear once asked to close the gap.
Karl Burke’s Shayem – winner of the Listed Sir Henry Cecil Stakes at Newmarket three weeks ago – was always in the prime position behind Catullus and after grabbing the lead racing inside the final half-furlong, he had enough in hand to keep Talk Of New York at bay by half a length in the hands of Clifford Lee.
“We don’t have to lead, but we knew Billy (Loughnane, riding Catullus) was going to go off a nice gallop and Cliff was the only one really to keep tabs on the leader,” said Burke.
“Last year, you would have said that he was a soft ground horse but he has proven otherwise this year. We had no qualms about the ground or the track as he handled the undulations at Newmarket well.
“Cliff is very good with his fractions. It was a great performance and Abdulrazaq (Mohamdi, owner) will be delighted as he’s a homebred horse as well. He’s a great supporter of ours from Dubai.
“There is a nice race at Kentucky Downs for him in September and one at Colonial Downs as well. I don’t think they are Grade Ones but they are very valuable races and if if we don’t go there, we could come back for the Celebration Mile.”
Appleby will let the dust settle on Talk Of New York’s disappointing defeat before considering his next move.
He said: “At the top of the hill I thought they’d have to go a bit to go past the lead horse because he’s no mug and he likes the track. Stretching to the mile was always going to be the undoing of Catullus – stop the clock a furlong out and we were a comfortable winner.
“William said himself, the front two stole a good march on him and they’re two sensible horses. We knew that Catullus was not going to see the mile out eventually but Will said ‘I was only just getting rolling there the last furlong’
“I’m not using the track as an excuse, I think the winner is sensible and is improving, he’s done everything right, got a nice lead from us and used it, and we’ve gone and finished the race off.
“You could say do we need to step up in trip? Possibly. But he has got to learn to settle a little bit as well – that first furlong he does want to be a little bit aggressive, but I don’t think that was really the undoing of the race to be fair. The pace was on and they weren’t coming back at the end of the day.”
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