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DAVID Simcock and the Trillium Place team are still enjoying the tremendous results achieved by Madame Chiang and Caspar Netscher last weekend.
Madame Chiang, in the colours of Kirsten Rausing, delivered a brilliant finish to claim the Group 1 QIPCO British Champions Fillies and Mares Stakes at Ascot.
The following day saw an international triumph with Caspar Netscher (for owner Charles Wentworth) landing the Grade 2 Nearctic Stakes at Woodbine, Canada.
The victory on British Champions Day was a huge result for connections. It was the fourth occasion on which the day had been staged and David felt that it was once again a major triumph for the sport.
He said: “It is a brilliant day’s racing whether or not you have a runner there. It is a great success for British racing.
“It is a day which people will really want to have runners at. The atmosphere was fantastic. And even though it was soft ground, the racing was very competitive.
“To cap it off with a winner just made it even better. A lot of people underestimated how well Madame Chiang ran in last month’s Prix Vermeille (she was beaten just over three lengths) and the form of that race is already proving very, very good.
“Last Saturday’s win was fantastic for her owner-breeder who has put a terrific amount of work and effort into the industry.
“Soft ground isn’t the be-all and end-all with Madame Chiang. To get to top speed, she needs a galloping track. It takes time for her to build up to that.
“Tracks like Newmarket and York give her the best chance to do that. We will probably drop back to a mile and a quarter and start back in something like the Middleton Stakes at York next May.”
Caspar Netscher was the beneficiary of a superb hold-up ride by jockey Andrew Mullen and got up in the last strides for his first win in more than two years. It was due reward for owner, trainer and the team after a less than straightforward time with ‘Caspar’ who returned to training in mid-2013 after being deemed sub-fertile as a stallion.
David said: “I am very pleased for the horse, who has had a stop-start sort of year. He got injured at the start of the season and we rushed him back midway through.
“He ran respectably the last twice in England but the great thing about Canada on Sunday was they went a proper pace. In England the sprints are a little more cagey. He was given a very clever ride by Andrew, too.
“Hopefully, we will now be able to take our chance with him in the Breeders’ Cup (Sprint Turf) at Santa Anita over six and a half furlongs (on November 1).”