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Al Kazeem crowned in Prince of Wales's
"I was only worried for a second, when we turned in," Doyle remarked. "I thought that Paul Hanagan gave his horse (Mukhadram) a fantastic ride -- he got the fractions right, filled his up at the right time and quickened off the turn. "We settled into a nice rhythm but Mukhadram got a couple of lengths on me turning in and I had to make them up. I could see Paul just getting away from me on the turn and had a bit of work to do but you have to believe in your horse -- I have done nothing but win on this fellow. My confidence with him is amazing. "Al Kazeem digs deep and is such a hardy, tough horse. He loves to get in a battle and he showed what a good horse he is by quickening up. I am very lucky to be sat on him. "He is a class act over a mile and a quarter and arguably even better over a mile and a half. But a mile and a quarter is no problem -- he has the tactical speed, quickened and picked up. He is a serious horse over a mile and a quarter." Al Kazeem earned his fourth straight win and remains perfect in three starts thus far this season. He only raced once as a four-year-old last season, taking the Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket in May 2012, and didn't reappear until capturing his April 27 debut in the Group 3 Gordon Richards Stakes by a length. The bay son of Dubawi entered the Prince of Wales's off a 1 1/2-length score in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup in Ireland. "The name of the game is patience," Charlton stated. "Sir Henry Cecil said 'patience, patience and more patience' and you need the owners to do that. We always thought we had a really good horse, so it was worth waiting for. "To be fair, we nearly ran him in the autumn (last year) and then decided to give him more time. You can't do it without the horse and, as we saw today, he is a very tough, very genuine horse. I thought for an awful minute that we weren't going to get there but James seemed quite confident, so how do I know anything? I thought James gave him a great ride. For a young guy who hasn't ridden that many good horses, I am so pleased for James. We have asked him big questions and he has delivered. He is going to go forwards." Charlton was celebrating his biggest success at Royal Ascot with his eighth winner. "Obviously, it is very thrilling," he added. "It would have been horrible to just miss out with all due to respect to William Haggas' horse. It would have been awful to be in front a stride past the line. It is always nerve-wracking -- I am never complacent. You never take anything for granted until they are past the line." Al Kazeem has really come on for his connections. Prior to last year's first stakes win in the Jockey Club his best finish against black-type rivals were runner-up efforts in the Group 3 St. Simon Stakes, Group 3 Arc Trial and Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes, all in 2011. "His owner breeder was offered lots of money for this horse and often people accept those offers so I am lucky to have the horse really," Charlton said. "He is a very special horse. He is a very good-looking horse -- he has got that lovely Dubawi head and he clearly stays a mile and a half well and he has all the attributes that make a good horse. He has a fantastic temperament and, apart from the pelvis, has been fantastically sound and he is a real trier." While Charlton didn't name Al Kazeem's next start, he wasn't shy about stating where he'd like to eventually run. "I think that there are lots of lovely races for Al Kazeem. I don't know without discussing it with the owner but I have always longed to have a runner in the Arc -- I think he is a horse who is very happy if the ground is on the soft side and he has proved that he probably needs a mile and a half. That would be his end of season target and very exciting to go for," he said. "I think he needs an Arc preparation -- not run too close to the race -- a bit like Rainbow Quest. I think that it is important not to be too greedy and suddenly think that 'gosh, that race is worth this and that race is worth that.' We have to plan it and, if he was to run in the Arc, maybe we could go for the King George and then to the Arc. It's silly to talk about this but the Eclipse is 17 days away, which he would be favorite for. The horse will tell us." Mukhadram entered the Prince of Wales's off a first stakes victory in the Group 3 Brigadier General at Sandown on May 30. Despite the close loss on the wire, the four-year-old's jockey was still full of praise for the Shamardal colt. "Everything went to plan and he's so genuine that when I kicked I thought I had it," Hanagan said. "I knew it would take a very good horse to beat me, and, of course, that is what happened. He went down fighting -- it went to plan, but not that well because we didn't win, but he gave everything." Mukhadram's trainer was quick to commend both horse and jockey. "It was a fantastic ride, the horse ran his guts out and the trainer has almost lost his voice," Haggas said. "I'm very proud of the horse. It was jockey and owner planning -- I can't tell you what a marvelous ride (Hanagan) gave him and he nearly nicked it." Mukhadram is entered in the Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal meeting on Saturday, but when asked if he might run, Haggas said, "No chance!" The Fugue was running for the first time since a third-place effort in the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf last November. Her trainer, John Gosden, said, "She ran a super race and finished very strongly, so I'm delighted with her. The first two set a very high standard and (Hanagan) did a very good job. "She can race over a mile and a quarter to a mile and a half. The Pretty Polly Stakes (on June 30) is probably going to come too soon, but there's the Nassau Stakes, the Coral-Eclipse and the King George VI & Queen Elizabeth Stakes to consider, but she does like this ground." Last year's dual Epsom and Irish Derby winner Camelot, who had a colic operation in October last year, could fare no better than fourth in the Prince of Wales's. "We will wait and see what happens next," trainer Aidan O'Brien said of the 5-2 favorite. "He had a tough enough winter -- they will tell you (surgeons) that a big operation will take at least four months for the wound to heal. "I have never really chased him (at home) -- we have been letting the racing bring him on but maybe it is time to chase him we have to be very conscious of what he has been through. The runs have been bringing him on but maybe he is at the stage where he should be chased after a little bit. "There are a lot of options open to him -- races like the Coral-Eclipse and all those races. We have got to where we are now and maybe need to change a few little things." "Well it is a bit disappointing -- we thought he would get a bit closer to Al Kazeem this time," added Derek Smith, who is one of the co-owners of the dual classic-winning Montjeu colt. "We will just have to go away and think about things. We have no real thoughts about what to do next we will just have to go away and have a chat about it." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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