Premio Loco lands Betfair Celebration Mile at Goodwood
After collecting plenty of embarrassment twice earlier this season, Premio Loco finally managed to put his journey back on the winning ways at Goodwood on Saturday, July 25th. Chris Wall’s charge handed out a lesson to his younger opponents, and
finished on top of the table in the Group 2 Betfair Celebration Mile, held over one mile.
The veteran runner utilised his experience to take an early lead. Despite staying at a moderate pace, he remained untroubled in the middle stages. The 20-1 chance shifted gears a furlong before the wire, and kept running well.
He edged left inside the final furlong, but railed to lead in the final 50 yards. It was not a cosy success for the Chris Wall-trained, who had to work really hard in order to retain his advantage in the dying moments. Luck twisted in his favour, and the
8-year-old notched up the first rank by a neck’s distance.
In the hands of George Baker, he managed to repel his rivals, and recorded his 15th success. Thistle Bird was lucky as well as unlucky at the same time. Roger Charlton’s charge missed the crown by a whisker, but the runner-up spot came to her
just by a head’s distance.
Aljamaaheer was third in a tight finish. The 7-4 favourite challenged the leaders in the final stages, and looked like a winner at one stage. However, he could not go through with an effort and as a result, ended up third on the chart.
After riding the son of Prized to a fascinating victory, Baker said: "All the plaudits have to go to Chris Wall, who said we should try something different by making the running and was adamant we should stick as close to the far rail as we could."
On Premio Loco’s future plans, Wall shared: "It wouldn't be the end of the world if he didn't run again this year, but I expect we'll look at the Joel Stakes at Newmarket, which is another Group 2 over a mile. The only downside is he'll have a Group 2 penalty
all next year now, but we can't complain."
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