Art Power denies Kinross in the British Champions Sprint (Megan Rose Photography)
Racenews Press Release
Art Power caused a 40/1 shock in the G1 QIPCO British Champions Sprint as he battled back under David Allan to edge out 5/4 favourite Kinross and Frankie Dettori.
Having raced on the sharp end, the King Power Racing-owned winner appeared to be a sitting duck when Kinross made a strong challenge entering the final furlong.
Dettori’s mount edged ahead soon after but Art Power rallied gamely to get back up and score by a neck, making it a first winner on QIPCO British Champions Day for Yorkshire trainer Tim Easterby.
Spycatcher (11/1) stayed on late to grab third, while 25/1 chance Swingalong stuck to her task in fourth.
Easterby said: “Art Power has had a few bad luck stories, but he’s been in the first four nearly every time he has run here. You can’t knock that. And he always runs to the line.
“We gelded him during the winter because we couldn’t get a job for him at stud. He’s a wonderful little horse. He took his gelding well, he takes it well whatever you do with him – he’s a great horse to train, no fancy gallops or all that bulls***. He’s just brilliant.
“I thought David gave him a fantastic ride. He jumped out and travelled. And when he travels, he is hard to beat. He looked great today – he’s put weight back on. He lost a load of weight when he ran in France.
Asked whether he will be out again this season, he said: “I don’t know; there’s racing in Hong Kong, we might take him over there – we shall see.”
Allan, also enjoying his first win at the meeting, said: “As Frankie came to me, I wasn’t too happy. I thought, ‘I’m going to get beat a neck here and be really cheesed off’, but Art Power dug in really well for me the last half furlong and I couldn’t believe he got back up.
“I had no company for a lot of the race and, when he got a bit of company, he really stuck his neck out and ran through the line. I couldn’t pull him up after, I don’t know if that was excitement or what, but I couldn’t stop him.
“He was bouncing today. I think he had a hard race in France, it took a little bit out of him. The start went wrong in the Abbaye; he hit his head on the gates, so that was that gone.
“Today he bounced out and he’s got the perfect ground for him. He likes it soft to heavy but he doesn’t like it sticky, so it’s just wet enough that he can use his speed.
“It is great for him to get a Group One as he’s had a few goes. He has run some good races but you’re thinking, is he ever going to win one? But he was awesome today.”
Ralph Beckett said of Kinross: “I am very pleased and proud of him. We slightly had to go looking for Tim’s horse, to get by him. The winner’s very tough, isn’t he, on his ground. It’s just one of those things. That’s the way it goes.
“I don’t know [about the Breeders’ Cup or Hong Kong] – we’ll talk about it after the weekend. It will be one or both. We will see.”
