Al Kazeem has caused a major upset to defeat triple Classic winner Camelot in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.
The lightly-raced five-year-old is making up for lost time in tremendous fashion after being off for almost 12 months before returning in triumph at Sandown four weeks ago.
Roger Charlton’s raider was settled in last of the four runners, just behind Camelot, as the market leader’s stablemate Windsor Palace took them along in single file.
All looked to be going well enough for the 4-11 favourite but James Doyle ranged alongside in the straight on the lightly-raced Al Kazeem (9-4) and quickened away to score by a length and a half.
“He’s been a slow maturing horse. Last year he came home with a stress fracture of his pelvis in the Jockey Club Stakes,” Charlton said.
“He’s a good horse and he rode him confidently. The plan was to drop in behind Camelot and he rode a good race.
“We can look at all the top races over a mile and a quarter and we also know he stays a mile and a half very well.
“I’d like to think maybe the Arc at the end of the season. Ascot is an obvious possibility, we’ve also got the Eclipse – there’s lots of lovely races there for him.”
Camelot’s trainer Aidan O’Brien admitted he has had to tread carefully with Camelot after the horse had surgery for colic late last year.
“As everyone knows he had surgery during the winter and they say it usually takes six months to get over an anaesthetic as big as he had, so we are taking him along gently,” he told At The Races.
“He ran a very good race. We will take one step at a time. Obviously we are disappointed he got beat, but that’s the way it is and it’s a stepping stone on the way.
“We’ll see where we go next. The plan was to go here and then go to Ascot and I think that is still the plan at the moment.”
