Finally, some clarity to clear up all the confusion. Bradsell is the best sprinter in the speed business. There can be no arguments and no complaining about the lack of a proper sprinting star. This is him.
We have spent the last few seasons craving a standout sprinter. The average starting price of the six group 1 sprint winners in Britain this season has been 10-1 and the most recent of those was won by a 25-1 shot who is six.
They all seemed much of a muchness, but when you back up a blistering Nunthorpe (G1) success with an emphatic victory in the Flying Five (G1), you elevate yourself above the pack.
Bradsell’s CV would get him almost any job in world sprinting right now. He’s a Coventry Stakes (G2) winner, a King’s Stand winner, a Nunthorpe winner, and now a Flying Five winner. Now it seems connections are keen to add Breeders’ Cup glory to his repertoire.
Having won the Nunthorpe and now the Flying Five, Bradsell qualified for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G1T) via the Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series: Win and You’re In.
Archie Watson admitted to feeling rather relaxed for the :57.25 it took Bradsell to land his third group 1, with the winning trainer saying: “It was pretty easy watching and there wasn’t really a moment where you had any worries. He was imperious. He never looked like being beaten. He kicked clear and he’s done it very well.
“I was surprised he wasn’t favorite for the Nunthorpe and was surprised this morning when there was a bit of negativity about the horse. I thought he was by far the best sprinter around and I hope that he’s showing people that he is.
“He’s just got so much speed and so much class. He’s tough and he’s just a pleasure to have anything to do with. He’s got quicker.”
Watson added about Bradsell’s future: “There are two further races which are a possibility. There is the Abbaye, although I wouldn’t want it to be horrible ground or for him to be drawn ‘stupid’. There is also the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar, which should be right up his street, as it is a very quick five. One or both of those, all being well, would be the plan.”
In the race Hollie Doyle kept it simple. She rode him like the best horse and he proved he was just that.
She said: “His track record here hasn’t been great, so that was a bit of a worry, but he’s proven today he’s one of the best sprinters in Europe. You can put him where you want, he’s got a good turn of foot, and he tries very hard.”
That is proving a lethal combination.
Spare a thought for Believing. He’s now finished a close-up third in the Qatar Stakes at Goodwood and has been runner-up in the Nunthorpe and the Flying Five. Stall one proved his undoing here. It would have been very interesting had he been drawn closer to the winner, who came out of stall 14.
This was Bradsell’s day—again. You can set your watch by him these days. There’s none quicker than him right now. Finally, we have the sprinting star we have been searching for.
