Fennell Bay becomes Mark Johnston’s fourth charge to land the King George V Stakes at Ascot
Mark Johnston’s charge, Fennell Bay, left the competition far behind, when he landed a magnificent victory in the King George V Stakes (Handicap) at Ascot on 21st June, 2012, where he rode under the command of capable rider,
Joe Fanning.
The victory over the 1 mile, 4 furlong course was the fifth victory for the son of Dubawi, out of mare Woodrising, in the twelve starts that he has competed in.
The rider worked his magic on the three-year-old, and guided him to victory over Godolphin’s, Handsome Man, by a marginal difference of a neck.
The third place was secured by the Richard Hannon trained, Rougemont, who fell a neck behind the runner-up while the Mahmood Al Zarooni trained, Anomaly, finished in fourth place.
Regarding this victory, the winning jockey told the press that:
"It's grand. He won well. We were worried about the trip today. He was just doing a bit much coming down the hill but when I turned in I had a lot of horse underneath me and he stayed on well. It's nice to come down and have a winner."
The bay colt’s victory was truly commendable, since he was up against some tough runners.
Godolphin entered three of their runners, while Handsome Man claimed a placed finish and Anomaly delivered a decent performance. The Mahmood Al Zarooni trained, Samba King, fell short and finished 12th.
Mark Johnston expressed his delight with the performance of his runner, who broke from post 17 to enter the race, he commented:
"It gets more of a relief every time. It was beginning to look like a blank week so it's fantastic to get one in the bag.
"I'm delighted for Joe Fanning, nobody deserves it more. If he's not the best jockey in Britain he's certainly the most underrated. It was a fantastic ride from a bad draw.”
Johnston’s runners have expressed their immense potential - and over the years, he stands as a proud trainer who has saddled four runners in this handicap.
The first being Systematic, who claimed the victory in 2002, followed by Fantastic Love in 2003, Linas Selection in 2006 and Fennell Bay in 2012.
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