The horse with ideas of his own about racing shows his sweet-natured side and will return next year for the hat-trick
There are horses that win with a minimum of fuss, and others, like Sweet William, that have a style that is all their own, and John & Thady Gosden’s stayer kept it interesting throughout in the Doncaster Cup on Friday, as he overcame a slow start and some early coaxing from Rab Havlin in his saddle to win the Group Two contest for the second year running.
Sweet William has often appeared to have his own ideas about the racing game during a 20-race career, with slow starts and mid-race flat spots frequently forcing Havlin to get busy at an early stage.
When he eventually goes through the gears, however, he is a very difficult horse to keep out of the frame, and while his latest win was his first since the same race 12 months ago, his fourth-place finish in this year’s Ascot Gold Cup was the only time he has been outside the first three. His strike-rate for each-way backers is 85%.
Sweet William was bumped leaving the stalls, took a few strides to find his balance and was then ridden by Havlin to make up the lost ground before tacking himself on at the back of the field. And there he stayed until leaving the turn for home, when Havlin stoked him up for one relentless run down the straight that carried him nearly four lengths clear at the line.
