American Affair takes ‘magical’ King Charles sprint glory for Scotland

Scottish challenger American Affair finished best to land the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot for Jim Goldie and Paul Mulrennan.

Successful in valuable handicaps at Musselburgh and York, the five-year-old was perhaps unfortunate not to finish closer than he did when fifth in the Temple Stakes at Haydock and was an 11-1 chance for this Group One debut.

Settled in midfield as the likes of Regional and Night Raider blazed a trail, American Affair was produced with his challenge inside the final two furlongs and found plenty for pressure to get the better of a protracted duel with Frost At Dawn by a neck.

Lanarkshire-based Goldie said: “I’ve trained the family for two generations, so it’s very sweet.

“He’s just getting faster, we went seven furlongs at Wetherby in his maiden, we’ve learnt to run him over the right trip, we took him back to five and he’s just getting better and better.

“I was quite confident he could do it today, he had the talent, we got it wrong at Haydock. I knew he was probably one of the fastest horses in the race, but it’s how you control that. We’ve come down a day early and got him relaxed and it all fell into place. It means a lot.

“You’re never sure, but I could see he was travelling well. He’s just getting faster and faster, we trained his family and they were the same – they just got quicker.

“We brought him here yesterday to settle him in and it’s all worked out perfectly. It’s just terrific.

“Paul really believed in this horse and we knew he had it in him. It’s magical, he’s a very good horse.

“We’re living the dream, so to speak. To win here is probably a career highlight. Well, it’s not ‘probably’, is it? It’s definitely a career highlight.”

Mulrennan added: “I was just saying there, at this stage of my career I’ve probably got more years behind me than I have in front of me, it’s extra special.

“It’s hard enough to get rides here, it’s nice to come down here and have a ride, to win a Group One here is very special and Jim’s been very good to me the last few years.

“He’s a master trainer at tweaking around with these horses and he can really, with the ammunition he has, he can get the best out of them on the big day.”

John McGrandles, breeder and part-owner, said: “He’s probably the only horse here with a Glasgow postcode in his passport!

“I’ve been involved with horses since I was six. My wife is a veterinary surgeon – and we’re off to the Highland Show tomorrow with sheep!

“This horse is the biggest winner we’ve had, yes. And the horse’s stable name is Charlie and he’s won the King Charles!”