Haggas followers on Sunday experienced a dramatic raceday. Firstly Masked Warrior who was supported on the off from 15/2 into 5/1 got upset in the stall and was withdrawn. Then the 2yo Extragalactic who was strong in the market at 7/2 on his debut must have touched 1.01 in running but was collared on the line by Capitano Josepi. Backed from 14/1 into 11/2 the gelding was only the 3rd 2yo winner for the yard of Kevin Frost.
Tom Marquand’s flight to Deauville couldn’t take off and the ride was taken by Pierre Boudot who conjured up a late run on bottomless ground on Al Aasy to win the valuable Grand Prix de Deauville. The remarkable 9yo was winning his first Group 2 at the age of 9. He last contested a Group 2 in July 2021 when he was beaten a head at 1/2 by Sir Ron Priestly. It made up in some ways for the defeats at the track this summer of More Thunder and Division and was a great example of the skills and methodology of Haggas and the Somerville Lodge team.
Let us hope those colors under similar conditions will be successful for Almeraq next Saturday in the Sprint Cup.
From the ‘sublime to the seller’ and the Somerville Lodge attempt to complete a hat trick of wins in the 11f Class 3 Selling Stakes at Goodwood with Lorca’s Waltz owned by the King and Queen. He was a huge drifter and finished tailed off -the race was won for Andrew Balding by Itica who won at 22/1 for Oisin Murphy.
Bank Holiday Monday
Trends are valuable for justifying big bets, occasionally even when a horse seems to run against them. William Haggas is a master planner of campaigns, and ever since the 5yo Divine Knight was purchased by his son Sam, I have been convinced he is a horse capable of winning two or three UK handicaps before being sold on to Australia.
After narrowly failing to land a gamble over 1m 5f at Ayr in May (backed 6/1 into 9/4), I have expected this hypothesis to prove correct. Fast ground has delayed the payoff, but the completely left-field decision to run Divine Knight in the Amateur Derby on Soft ground at Epsom leads me to believe Monday will be the first of at least two paydays.
I am deliberately bucking the trends here. Haggas’s 25-year record with horses aged 4+ in handicaps at Epsom is a modest 1-from-14. His overall 25-year strike rate with older handicap horses sits at 17%, though in 2026 it stands at just 9.8%. This includes four defeats for Divine Knight—who was heavily backed on all four occasions, twice at Class 2 level and twice in Class 3 company. Significantly, his career-best RPR came on the only occasion he encountered soft ground in one of those Class 2 events at Ayr.
He has twice been asked to make all on fast ground at Ascot and Newmarket, but even those performances look strong in the context of this Epsom assignment—particularly the Ascot form, where he was defeated by subsequent Melrose runner-up Galilean Quality, who was receiving 10lb in weight-for-age.
He drops to Class 4 company off a career low mark of 81 at Epsom on ground forecast as Good to Soft. Furthermore, the Haggas record in amateur-rider events leaves little doubt this race has been targeted. Over the past 25 years, Haggas has run just 12 horses in amateur races. The last came in 2017, when Mamselle took a 12f Newbury Class 4 handicap off a mark of 80, well-supported at 13/8.
The booking of top amateur Henry Callan— his first ride for the yard—will do no favors for the price, but stall 9 and the forecast conditions are ideal. Betting at Epsom always carries inherent track risk, but at an early price of 9/2, and 4 places available it is a risk well worth taking.
I expect Divine Knight to win, step back up in grade, and follow up—possibly returning to Ayr during the Gold Cup meeting.
- Selection: Divine Knight (Epsom)
- Recommendation: 2pt EW
Monday’s second runner is the 2yo filly Not My Type, contesting the Listed Champion 2yo Trophy at Ripon. Along with several of the yard’s older handicappers, the Haggas juveniles have largely underwhelmed this summer. All three of the well-fancied runners I have backed performed 10–14lb below their previous promising runs. This is rare for a Haggas-trained 2yo cohort, suggesting an underlying yard factor.
Not My Type has already proven her ability by winning twice, and she does not neatly fit the pattern of those underperforming stablemates. However, this represents a steep step up in class, and stall 4 is a tricky draw on a track whose famous ridges can catch out horses experiencing them for the first time.
With only eight runners and the two market leaders already boasting course-and-distance victories, the percentage play is to take a watching brief.
- Selection: Not My Type (Ripon)
- Recommendation: No Bet
Divine Knight can land Amateur Derby for Haggas and Callan
Chrysalis Consortium 
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