Ashal
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Ashal (foaled 6 March 1986) was a British
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...
racehorse and
sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" a ...
. He was a specialist stayer best known for his upset victory in the 1990
Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,014 ...
. After finishing unplaced on his only start as a two-year-old he spent the following year competing in minor races at
Redcar Racecourse Redcar Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England. The racecourse was opened in 1872. History Racing began at Redcar on the sands at Redcar beach in the early 18th century. The final mee ...
, winning three times. In 1990 he began his campaign by finishing second to
Sadeem Sadeem (foaled 1983) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A specialist stayer, he won consecutive runnings of the Ascot Gold Cup in 1988 and 1989. His other victories included the Sagaro Stakes, Goodwood Cup, Pr ...
at
Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October. History Racing at t ...
and then won the
Group Three AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...
Oleander-Rennen The Oleander-Rennen is a Group 2 flat horse race in Germany open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 3,200 metres (about 2 miles) at Hoppegarten in May. History The event is named after Oleande ...
in Germany. At Ascot, he coped with the wet conditions better than his opponents and won the Gold Cup by four
lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...
. He was beaten in his three remaining races although he did finish third in the
Jockey Club Cup A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual w ...
on his final appearance. He has been described as one of the worst horses to win the Gold Cup.


Background

Ashal was a bay horse with no white markings bred in Ireland by Derrinstown Stud Ltd one of the breeding companies of his owner
Hamdan Al Maktoum Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum ( ar, حمدان بن راشد أل مكتوم, '; 25 December 1945 – 24 March 2021) was an Emirati politician, the deputy ruler of Dubai and the minister of finance and industry of the United Arab Emirates ...
. He was sent into training with Harry Thomson Jones at
Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. Located (14 miles) west of Bury St Edmunds and (14 miles) northeast of Cambridge. It is considered the birthplace and global centre of thoroughbred hor ...
. Like many of the trainer's horses, he raced in a white "sheepskin" noseband. Ashal was from the third crop of foals sired by
Touching Wood Touching Wood (1979–2004) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes in 1982. Touching Wood was still a maiden when he finished second to Golden Fleece in the 198 ...
an American-bred stallion who was trained by Thomson Jones to win the St Leger for Hamdan Al Maktoum's older brother Maktoum Al Maktoum in 1982. Most of his offspring produced their best form over extended distance and included Great Marquess ( Doncaster Cup) and Lucky Moon (
Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3,219 ...
). Ashal's dam Johara won one minor race in England as a two-year-old in 1981. She was a descendant of the American broodmare Grey Flight (foaled in 1945) who was the female-line ancestor of several major winners including
Bold Lad Bold Lad (1962–1986) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Bold Lad bred and raced by Gladys Phipps and her brother Ogden L. Mills under their Wheatley Stable banner. His sire was eight-time leading sire in North Ame ...
,
Quick As Lightning Quick As Lightning (17 March 1977 – 1981) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the classic 1000 Guineas in 1980. She was one of the leading British-trained juvenile fillies of 1979, when she w ...
and Priolo


Racing career


1988: two-year-old season

On his first and only appearance as a two-year-old Ashal started a 16/1 outsider for a
maiden race In horse racing a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the se ...
over seven
furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one eighth of a mile, equivalent to 660 feet, 220 yards, 40 rods, 10 chains or approximately 201 metres. It is now mostly confined to use in hors ...
at
Yarmouth Racecourse Great Yarmouth racecourse is a horse racing course located a mile north of Great Yarmouth, owned by Arena Racing Company. The track takes the form of a narrow oblong of a mile and five furlongs round, with two long straights about five furlongs in ...
. Ridden as in all but one of his races by Richard Hills he was always towards the rear of the field and finished eleventh of the thirteen runners behind Warrshan (later to win the Predominate Stakes and the
Gordon Stakes The Gordon Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old horses. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 1 mile 3 furlongs and 218 yards (2,412 metres), and it i ...
) beaten twelve and a half
lengths Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Intern ...
by the winner.


1989: three-year-old season

Ashal's three-year-old season consisted of four races at
Redcar Racecourse Redcar Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England. The racecourse was opened in 1872. History Racing began at Redcar on the sands at Redcar beach in the early 18th century. The final mee ...
in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
. In 4 July he was beaten a short head by Groom Porter in a maiden over fourteen furlongs and then started 6/5 favourite for a similar event over a distance of two miles three weeks later. After taking the lead three furlongs out he went clear of the field before being eased down in the closing stages to win by two and a half lengths from Kosciosko. Ashal was then off the course until October when he contested a minor race over two miles in which only one horse, a gelding named Shrraar appeared to oppose him. Starting at the unusual odds of 1/25 he took the lead half way through the "contest" and won by thirty lengths. On 10 November the colt was matched against older horses for the first time and started at odds of 5/1 in a thirteen-runner handicap race over fourteen furlongs. Carrying a weight of 122 pounds he went to the front a quarter of a mile from the finish and "stayed on strongly" to win by six lengths from the Barry Hills-trained five-year-old Sudden Victory.


1990: four-year-old season

Ashal began his third campaign at
Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October. History Racing at t ...
on 3 May in the Douglas Stakes, a minor race which nevertheless represented a major step up in class as he was matched against
Sadeem Sadeem (foaled 1983) was an American-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. A specialist stayer, he won consecutive runnings of the Ascot Gold Cup in 1988 and 1989. His other victories included the Sagaro Stakes, Goodwood Cup, Pr ...
, a seven-year-old who had won the last two runnings of the Ascot Gold Cup. Ridden by Nicky Carlisle he stayed on in the closing stages of the fourteen-furlong event and finished second by a neck to his older rival from whom he was receiving ten pounds in weight. Hills was back in the saddle sixteen days later when the colt was sent to Baden-Baden in Germany for the
Group Three AP Films or APF, later becoming Century 21 Productions, was a British independent film production company of the 1950s until the early 1970s. The company became internationally known for its imaginative children's action-adventure marionette tel ...
Oleander-Rennen over 3200 metres. He recorded his first major success as he won by three and a half lengths from Dance Spectrum with Glacial Storm (winner of the
Prix de Barbeville The Prix de Barbeville is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 3,100 metres (about 1 mile and 7½ furlongs) ...
, runner-up in the
1988 Epsom Derby {, class="collapsible collapsed" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="clear:right; float:right; text-align:center; font-weight:bold;" width="280px" ! colspan="3" style="border:1px solid black; background-color: #77DD77;" , Also Ran The ...
) another three and a half lengths back in third. The 1990 edition of the Gold Cup, run over two and a half miles at
Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races and ...
on 21 June attracted a field of eleven runners and took place in driving rain on ground officially described as good to soft. Teamster (
Sagaro Stakes The Sagaro Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile 7 furlongs and 209 yards () at Ascot in late April o ...
, Henry II Stakes) was made favourite ahead of Sadeem and Weld (Doncaster Cup,
Jockey Club Cup A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual w ...
) with Ashal a 14/1 outsider. The international challenge consisted of Turgeon from France and Tyrone Bridge from Ireland, whilst the other British-trained runners included the Yorkshire Cup winner Mountain Kingdom. Coping well with the difficult conditions, Ashal chased the outsider Noble Savage in the early stages before going to the front before half way. He entered the final straight with a clear advantage and never looked in serious danger of defeat, being driven out by Hills to win by four lengths from Tyrone Bridge with the outsider Thethingaboutitis taking third place. Ashal's win gave Hills his first Group One success. Much firmer ground prevailed for the rest of the season and Ashal failed to reproduce his Gold Cup form in his three subsequent races although he did carry top weight on each occasion. In the
Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3,219 ...
on 2 August he started second favourite but weakened in the straight and finished tailed-off behind the three-year-old Lucky Moon. He produced a better effort in the Doncaster Cup in September when he led the field until the last quarter mile but was then outpaced and finished fifth of the ten runners behind Al Maheb. In the
Jockey Club Cup A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual w ...
at
Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...
on 6 October he briefly took the lead approaching the last half mile before finishing third behind Great Marquess and Dance Spectrum. Ashal did not race again and there is no record of him standing as a breeding stallion.


Assessment and awards

In their book ''A Century of Champions'', based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Ashal as the worst Gold Cup winner of the 20th century. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
s Sue Montgomery described Ashal's Gold Cup as a "terrible nadir" for the stayers' division.


Pedigree


References

{{Reflist 1986 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 5-f