Ashal
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Ashal (foaled 6 March 1986) was a British
Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...
racehorse and
sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...
. He was a specialist stayer best known for his upset victory in the 1990
Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4 ...
. After finishing unplaced on his only start as a two-year-old he spent the following year competing in minor races at
Redcar Racecourse Redcar Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England. The racecourse was opened in 1872. History Racing began at Redcar on the sands at Redcar beach in the early 18th century. The final meet ...
, winning three times. In 1990 he began his campaign by finishing second to Sadeem at
Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October. History Racing at ...
and then won the Group Three Oleander-Rennen in Germany. At Ascot, he coped with the wet conditions better than his opponents and won the Gold Cup by four lengths. He was beaten in his three remaining races although he did finish third in the
Jockey Club Cup A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
on his final appearance. He has been described as one of the worst horses to win the Gold Cup.


Background

Ashal was a bay horse with no white
markings Marking may refer to: Symbols Marking may refer to human-made symbols and annotations in several contexts: On vehicles * Aircraft marking * Emergency vehicle equipment markings ** Battenburg markings, emergency vehicle patterns * Vehicle marki ...
bred in Ireland by Derrinstown Stud Ltd one of the breeding companies of his owner
Hamdan Al Maktoum Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum (, '; 25 December 1945 – 24 March 2021) was an Emirati politician, the deputy ruler of Dubai and the minister of finance and industry of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). He was the second son of the late rule ...
. He was sent into training with
Harry Thomson Jones Harry Thomson Jones (28 April 1925 – 5 December 2007), known as Tom Jones, was an English racehorse trainer. He was successful in National Hunt racing, training the winners of 12 Cheltenham Festival races before switching to flat racing and g ...
at
Newmarket, Suffolk Newmarket is a market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk (district), West Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, 14 miles west of Bury St Edmunds and 14 miles northeast of Cambridge. In 2021, it had a population of 16,772. It is a global ...
. Like many of the trainer's horses, he raced in a white "sheepskin"
noseband A noseband is the part of a horse's bridle that encircles the nose and jaw of the horse. In English riding, where the noseband is separately attached to its own headstall or crownpiece, held independently of the bit, it is often called a cavesso ...
. Ashal was from the third crop of foals sired by Touching Wood an American-bred stallion who was trained by Thomson Jones to win the
St Leger The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over ...
for Hamdan Al Maktoum's older brother Maktoum Al Maktoum in 1982. Most of his offspring produced their best form over extended distance and included Great Marquess (
Doncaster Cup The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles 1 furlong and 197 yards (3,600 m ...
) and Lucky Moon (
Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3 ...
). Ashal's dam Johara won one minor race in England as a two-year-old in 1981. She was a descendant of the American broodmare Grey Flight (foaled in 1945) who was the female-line ancestor of several major winners including
Bold Lad Bold Lad (1962–1986) was an American Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Bold Lad bred and raced by Gladys Phipps and her brother Ogden L. Mills under their Wheatley Stable banner. His sire was eight-time leading sire in North Amer ...
, Quick As Lightning and Priolo


Racing career


1988: two-year-old season

On his first and only appearance as a two-year-old Ashal started a 16/1 outsider for a
maiden race In horse racing, a maiden race is an event for horses that have not won a race. Horses that have not won a race are referred to as maidens. Maiden horse races are held over a variety of distances and under conditions with eligibility based on the s ...
over seven
furlongs A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 feet, 220 yards, 40  rods, 10 chains, or approximately 201 metres. It is no ...
at
Yarmouth Racecourse Great Yarmouth racecourse is a horse racing course located a mile north of Great Yarmouth, owned by Arena Racing Company. The track takes the form of a narrow oblong of a mile and five furlongs round, with two long straights about five furlongs ...
. Ridden as in all but one of his races by Richard Hills he was always towards the rear of the field and finished eleventh of the thirteen runners behind Warrshan (later to win the Predominate Stakes and the Gordon Stakes) beaten twelve and a half lengths by the winner.


1989: three-year-old season

Ashal's three-year-old season consisted of four races at
Redcar Racecourse Redcar Racecourse is a thoroughbred horse racing venue located in Redcar, North Yorkshire, England. The racecourse was opened in 1872. History Racing began at Redcar on the sands at Redcar beach in the early 18th century. The final meet ...
in
Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
. In 4 July he was beaten a short head by Groom Porter in a maiden over fourteen furlongs and then started 6/5 favourite for a similar event over a distance of two miles three weeks later. After taking the lead three furlongs out he went clear of the field before being eased down in the closing stages to win by two and a half lengths from Kosciosko. Ashal was then off the course until October when he contested a minor race over two miles in which only one horse, a gelding named Shrraar appeared to oppose him. Starting at the unusual odds of 1/25 he took the lead half way through the "contest" and won by thirty lengths. On 10 November the colt was matched against older horses for the first time and started at odds of 5/1 in a thirteen-runner handicap race over fourteen furlongs. Carrying a weight of 122 pounds he went to the front a quarter of a mile from the finish and "stayed on strongly" to win by six lengths from the
Barry Hills Barry Hills (born 2 April 1937) is a retired British thoroughbred horse trainer. He lives in Lambourn, England. Biography Barry Hills had three sons in his first marriage, to Maureen Newson: John, Michael, and Richard. John (died 2014) was a h ...
-trained five-year-old Sudden Victory.


1990: four-year-old season

Ashal began his third campaign at
Salisbury Racecourse Salisbury Racecourse is a flat racecourse in the United Kingdom featuring thoroughbred horse racing, southwest of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Fifteen race meetings a year are held there between early May and mid-October. History Racing at ...
on 3 May in the Douglas Stakes, a minor race which nevertheless represented a major step up in class as he was matched against Sadeem, a seven-year-old who had won the last two runnings of the Ascot Gold Cup. Ridden by Nicky Carlisle he stayed on in the closing stages of the fourteen-furlong event and finished second by a neck to his older rival from whom he was receiving ten pounds in weight. Hills was back in the saddle sixteen days later when the colt was sent to
Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
in Germany for the Group Three Oleander-Rennen over 3200 metres. He recorded his first major success as he won by three and a half lengths from Dance Spectrum with Glacial Storm (winner of the
Prix de Barbeville The Prix de Barbeville is a Group 3 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 3,100 metres (about 1 mile and 7½ furlo ...
, runner-up in the
1988 Epsom Derby {, class="collapsible collapsed" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="clear:right; float:right; text-align:center; font-weight:bold;" width="280px" ! colspan="3" style="border:1px solid black; background-color: #77DD77;" , Also Ran The ...
) another three and a half lengths back in third. The 1990 edition of the Gold Cup, run over two and a half miles at
Royal Ascot Ascot Racecourse is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, about 25 miles west of London. Ascot is used for thoroughbred horse racing, and it hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 races and three Gra ...
on 21 June attracted a field of eleven runners and took place in driving rain on ground officially described as good to soft. Teamster (
Sagaro Stakes The Sagaro Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run over a distance of 1 mile 7 furlongs and 209 yards () at Ascot in late Apri ...
,
Henry II Stakes The Henry II Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Sandown Park over a distance of 2 miles and 50 yards (), and it is schedule ...
) was made favourite ahead of Sadeem and Weld (Doncaster Cup,
Jockey Club Cup A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
) with Ashal a 14/1 outsider. The international challenge consisted of Turgeon from France and Tyrone Bridge from Ireland, whilst the other British-trained runners included the Yorkshire Cup winner Mountain Kingdom. Coping well with the difficult conditions, Ashal chased the outsider Noble Savage in the early stages before going to the front before half way. He entered the final straight with a clear advantage and never looked in serious danger of defeat, being driven out by Hills to win by four lengths from Tyrone Bridge with the outsider Thethingaboutitis taking third place. Ashal's win gave Hills his first Group One success. Much firmer ground prevailed for the rest of the season and Ashal failed to reproduce his Gold Cup form in his three subsequent races although he did carry top weight on each occasion. In the
Goodwood Cup The Goodwood Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Goodwood over a distance of 2 miles (3 ...
on 2 August he started second favourite but weakened in the straight and finished tailed-off behind the three-year-old Lucky Moon. He produced a better effort in the
Doncaster Cup The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles 1 furlong and 197 yards (3,600 m ...
in September when he led the field until the last quarter mile but was then outpaced and finished fifth of the ten runners behind Al Maheb. In the
Jockey Club Cup A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...
at
Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket, Suffolk, comprising two individual racecourses: the Rowley Mile and the July Course. Newmarket is often referred to as the headquarters of ...
on 6 October he briefly took the lead approaching the last half mile before finishing third behind Great Marquess and Dance Spectrum. Ashal did not race again and there is no record of him standing as a breeding stallion.


Assessment and awards

In their book ''A Century of Champions'', based on a modified version of the Timeform system, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Ashal as the worst Gold Cup winner of the 20th century. ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
s Sue Montgomery described Ashal's Gold Cup as a "terrible nadir" for the stayers' division.


Pedigree


References

{{Reflist 1986 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ireland Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 5-f