sport news Unbeaten Baaeed looks to join the greats in York trends now
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The perfect racing machine has the stage to show he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as some of the Turf’s most special horses when Baaeed lines up in the £1million Juddmonte International Stakes at York on Wednesday afternoon.
The William Haggas-trained colt arrives at the Knavesmire unbeaten in nine races, all over a mile. It is enough to be crowned a champion and be hailed as the best active racehorse on the planet right now.
But to be a Special One, you need to be able to deliver at more than one specialist distance.
Baaeed is yet to be beaten in nine races that have all been over a mile in distance
On Wednesday Baaeed will race over two and a half furlongs further than he has ever faced before — a different test and one the mighty Frankel passed so memorably in 2012.
Baaeed does have the pedigree to suggest he should possess stamina reserves. His sire is 2009 International Stakes winner Sea The Stars, who also won the mile-and-a-half Derby and Arc, while his dam Aghareed won over 10 furlongs.
But Haggas believes the combination of the race distance and the fact that last year’s International Stakes winner Mishriff stands in his way make this the stiffest test yet for Jim Crowley’s mount.
The added ingredient is the reputation of this race as a graveyard for reputations.
That is probably overblown but nagging at the back of the Haggas brain will be the
