It is not a common occurrence for a horse to start winning Gold Cups at seven – Yeats had two triumphs on his CV by the time he added a third in his seven-year-old season, Drums Taps was defending his title when he won in 1993, so too was Invershin in 1929.
Perhaps Trawlerman was prevented from an earlier success by the other things he clearly had on his mind as a young horse, namely a one-sided feud with the starting stalls that scuppered his chances more than once.
When that score was settled is unknown, but it is clear that with time, patience and expert handling he has developed into the kind of standing-dish stayer associated with Ascot‘s oldest race.
The term ‘dour stayer’ usually enters the racing vocabulary in the wettest part of winter when the ground is hock-deep, but it was on rapid going and under a sweltering sun that Trawlerman managed to call the phrase to mind several months out of season.
The 85-40 favourite under William Buick, John and Thady Gosden’s gelding nipped into an early lead and lolloped along at the head of affairs to gain an advantage that only seemed to widen as the race progressed.
When he swung for home and passed the clanging bell there was evidently no blow that could reach him, and it was with consummate ease that he sauntered home seven lengths ahead to break the track record over the trip and take his place at the head of the staying standings.
“We came here today and William was very clear what he was going to do, he was going to set a good, even pace and gradually press them from Swinley Bottom all the way through,” said John Gosden.
“The pretenders – the Aga Khan horse (Candelari) and the Coolmore and Ballydoyle horse (Illinois) – they’d have to stay two and a half miles properly. And they didn’t stay, we took them for stamina.
“It was the plan, beyond the plan, absolutely the plan – and he carried it off to perfection. We spend months planning this, we don’t just think ‘oh, shall we run at Ascot next week?’.
“It’s months in the making and they come here in top order. He’s one of the most relentless, proper gallopers. Going wire to wire in this takes a bit of doing, as does breaking the track record,
“It gives me enormous pleasure, I love the Cup races and I always have done. I’m inclined to run one more race and then put him away and come back next year.
“That’s more important than anything, we’ve won it once now, let’s see if he can win it again.”
Of Trawlerman’s earlier waywardness and his more mannerly approach as an older horse, Gosden added: “He used to be a hooligan, an absolute hooligan!
“Now even I’d ride him, though I don’t suppose he’d particularly appreciate that.
“He’s a fabulous horse to be around, he’s like his father – incredibly brave. Golden Horn would run through a wall for you and this horse is the same.”
Trawlerman has always been a very good horse, but he has not always been a very good boy – now he is both.
