Nathaniel announced himself as the new kid on the block in the middle-distance division with a battling triumph in a King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes veiled in tragedy at Ascot.
The success of the John Gosden-trained colt, for whom all roads now lead to Longchamp and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, was hugely overshadowed by the fall of Rewilding, who shattered a cannon-bone and had to be put down.
Frankie Dettori’s mount had joined in the sprint to the line off a farcical early pace when he took a bad step, throwing his jockey to the ground.
It was only a month ago Rewilding confirmed he was a horse to be reckoned with on racing’s global stage when he defeated dual Cox Plate winner So You Think during the Royal Ascot carnival.
Winning trainer Gosden was one of the first on hand to take hold of the stricken Rewilding and tend to him with what he described as “a final munch of grass” before the racecourse vet euthanized the four-year-old.
The tragedy that befell the Sheema Classic and Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner meant that it was largely muted applause that greeted Nathaniel and William Buick as they returned to unsaddle.
As he accepted the plaudits laid upon Nathaniel, who is unlikely to run again before the Arc, Gosden was quick to stress how little, if any, pain Rewilding felt in the short time between him sustaining his injury and being put down.
The Clarehaven handler explained: “People watching must understand that I’ve seen horses do that galloping in a paddock and it can happen at any time without warning.
“I was quickly out there when he pulled up by the winning post and held him and fed him some grass and he munched away. The horse was very well dealt with by the vet, it was a clean break and a quick end.
“It’s a freakish thing, he just put the leg down wrong.”
The presence of Debussy as a pacesetter for Rewilding might as well not have happened, such was the sedentary nature of the early pace.
It meant Buick had to take the bull by the horns earlier than he wanted and set out to make the rest, followed by St Nicholas Abbey, Rewilding and Workforce, before Debussy did eventually go on.
Ryan Moore asked Workforce to take closer order starting round the home turn and the 6-5 favourite looked all set to pick up the leader, only for Nathaniel to find extra as the pair effectively sprinted to the line.
Both horses veered left across the track, Workforce markedly so, but 11-2 chance Nathaniel was always holding the upper hand and prevailed by two and three-quarter lengths.
Bookmaker reaction was positive towards the winner who is 6-1 from 20s for the Arc while one firm introduced him as a 5-1 shot for the Breeders’ Cup Turf.
PA AAP TURF
