Evergreen Kingsgate Native wins the Achilles Stakes at Haydock
Saturday 30 May 2015 18:32, UK
Eight years on from his first big-race success in the Nunthorpe, the remarkable Kingsgate Native defied his years to win the 888Sport Achilles Stakes at Haydock Park.
Badly hampered when trying to throw down his challenge in the Temple Stakes over course and distance seven days earlier, trainer Robert Cowell took the decision to send the 10-year-old out into battle again.
That call paid off in style when Graham Lee brought the 11/1 chance through with a well-timed run to win going away by a length and a quarter from Out Do (3/1) with Speed Hawk (12/1), a stablemate of the winner, back in third.
Lee said: "This is why we do the job - when you meet guys like this fella. He just wants to please.
"It's great, and for a 10-year-old he has so much enthusiasm."
Matthew Sigsworth, bloodstock manager for owners Cheveley Park Stud, added: "It's an incredible achievement for a 10-year-old to be doing what he's been doing for so many years.
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![Kingsgate Native (centre), ridden by Graham Lee, rolls back the years to clinch the Achilles Stakes at Haydock]()
Image: The remarkable Kingsgate Native (centre), ridden by Graham Lee, rolls back the years to clinch the Achilles Stakes -
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"He was luckless in the Temple, but he always goes well at Haydock if things go right for him and we're delighted.
"I think it's unlikely he'll go to Royal Ascot, I think that's a step too far.
"He'll probably have a break now and we'll see what there is for him later in the year."
