David Egan was “championed” after riding his first British Classic winner in a tough Cazoo St. Leger Stakes (G1) tinged with sadness.
He admits his first thought about crossing the line to the intrepid stay Eldar Eldarov in a race postponed 24 hours to 11 September due to the Queen’s death, for Jack de Bromhead, the 13-year-old coach’s son who died in a riding accident last weekend.
Egan’s success in a 9-2 shot coached by Roger Varian, Queen’s Vase (G2) winner in June, was his first Group 1 win since he won Juddmonte International Stakes (G1). ) and Longines Dubai Sheema Classic (G1) on Mishriff the owner, Prince Faisal, offered his services this summer.
If that split does not happen, Egan will be claimed for the Irish Champion Share on Saturday at Leopardstownwill conflict with Leger if it is run at Doncaster Racecourse on its intended date.
“When one door closes, another opens,” Egan said. “My relationship with Prince Faisal ended well and we both went our separate ways.
As such, he was free to drive Eldar Eldarov to a battle, the two-way defeat of the demoted afterwards. Haskoy .
“It’s been a sad week for all that’s happened, The Queen and Jack de Bromhead – we’re alive, but we haven’t forgotten them,” he said.
“I knew.
“To win a Classic at 23… I never thought I’d do it, but when you’re riding on such a large stable, it can happen. When you see the Queen has gone win this race and think I’ve accomplished something like that—I’m just really scared, really, it’s all a little fuzzy.”
Eton Forever did the Spring Mile here in 2011 and who landed Ladbrokes St. Leger (G1) with Kingston Hill three years later.
“Sometimes the longer you work on something, the harder it gets, and the more you crave for greater success,” he said. “We only trained for three years when Kingston Hill won, so this is a very sweet success.”
Varian was confident of a great run from his fourth Grand Prix de Paris and said: “I quietly think he had a really big shout out today. People weren’t surprised by the run. his in Paris, but he ran well and the winner pushed Luxembourg all the way in Champion Bets. And that was on fast ground, the temperature was 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 degrees Fahrenheit) and it’s been a long journey out there.
“His run at Royal Ascot shows he has plenty of fitness, and the fact that he ran in Nottingham at the age of 2 in pretty good test conditions, albeit at another company, shows that he is. handled easily in today’s conditions. The question he had to answer was whether he was good enough, and he did it.”
Varian is hoping for even more success in 2023, when he will campaign for the Leger winner over the long haul.
“He has a lot of stamina and an admirable attitude,” he said. “We have to realize what kind of person he is, and he could be a very interesting racehorse in the next two or three years if he stays fit and healthy because he will get better along the way. age.”
Like most on a day when the race precedes two minutes of silence and the singing of “God Save The King,” Varian is also thinking about the death of the 1977 Leger Prize-winning woman Dunfermline.
“The whole nation is deeply saddened by the loss of the Queen, and everyone in the race has been hit hard because we have lost our patron,” he said.
“We’re grateful to have raced to go on today and I think that’s what she wanted. But it’s a grieving family and our thoughts are with them.”
