Al Aasy Captures Grand Prix de Deauville, First G2 Win

Al Aasy (IRE) reached a level that had previously eluded him at the grand old age of 9 when snatching the Aug. 30 Lucien Barriere Grand Prix de Deauville (G2) in the final strides under last-minute deputy Pierre-Charles Boudot. With Tom Marquand and Maureen Haggas grounded by a technical problem with their plane at Duxford in Cambridgeshire, Boudot was charged with delivering Al Aasy's trademark late burst on ground described officially as holding and which was beginning to show signs of wear and tear at the end of the month-long August meeting. It would have been a heart-in-mouth moment for William Haggas at Yarmouth, had a clash in race times not meant that he already knew the outcome before he got to see Al Aasy's thrilling late dash up the stands' rail to deny Chestnut Rocket (FR). "It clashed with a race we had here at Yarmouth, so we never saw it live," Haggas said. "I knew he'd won before I watched the race because PC's agent (Herve Naggar) sent me a congratulatory text. Actually, he did really well to win on filthy ground." Boudot certainly seemed to get the message about how the veteran needs to be ridden, while Haggas naturally had sympathy for his stable jockey missing out. "The horse knows how to race and PC managed to get him some cover, which he needs, and then he picked up," said Haggas. "He didn't look to have much chance with a furlong to run, but he stayed on really well. He probably enjoyed the ground because he hasn't seen that for a while. "He's been running on fast ground so he's done really well. I'm delighted to win but very sorry that Tom couldn't get there." Al Aasy has retained a remarkable will to carry on doing the job, while Haggas has been canny in the way he has campaigned Shadwell's homebred son of Sea The Stars (IRE). "He's won eight group 3s and a few listed races and he should, possibly, have beaten Pyledriver in the Coronation Cup," he reflected. "Pyledriver stayed on very well that day and as it transpired, he was a champion. But that was Al Aasy's big moment for a group 1 race. "With these older horses, you just need to keep them in the right class, and he's good enough to win with a group or a listed penalty." He added: "He usually goes off at this time of the year; he's good in the spring and the summer and then goes off in the autumn. But he looks terrific; he's been moving great at home and is full of enthusiasm, so we keep going."