Anmaat could now be aimed at 2025 challenges

While international options could be on the table in early 2025, the fact he has proved himself still capable of mixing it at the highest level, despite his advancing years, has connections dreaming of all the major 10-furlong events next season.

Racing manager Angus Gold paid tribute to the teams at Shadwell Stud and trainer Owen Burrows’ Lambourn yard for nursing him back to full health, but he still needed a brave ride from Jim Crowley to win the Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

“Until his last run he’d never been out of the first three in five years of racing and had he not run in Paris (finished fifth in Prix Dollar) and gone straight to Ascot from Haydock, then he probably would have been a 12/1 chance and not 40/1,” said Gold.

“He fluffed his lines in France, but at the same time he did run the fastest furlong of any of them between the two and the one. It was just unlike him not to finish off his race as he’s such a tough horse.

“I don’t think people realised what such a serious issue this horse had. He was in his box at Shadwell with his foot injury for months, he had almost a year out of training, so just to get him back at all was an achievement.

“To get him back to win was fantastic, but to win at the highest level is huge credit to an awful lot of people at Shadwell and Owen’s yard – and massive credit to the horse himself. An awful lot wouldn’t have come back from that.”

Crowley had to wait for a run at Ascot, finally getting a gap inside the final furlong, with Anmaat responding in style to win by half a length from Calandagan.

“The plan was to not be far from the leaders and not many had been coming from the rear on that ground,” said Gold.

“But as the race progressed, he just got shuffled further and further back. When I got home I watched the coverage from behind, which showed what Jim could see in front of him and at that stage I was thinking it wasn’t to be.

“But the way he quickened, in those last two furlongs – and in that ground – was very impressive. Like Jim said, the fact he couldn’t get out earlier meant he was just filling up and filling up.

“The more I watched it, to me it proves he’s a proper Group One horse, he was really impressive, it must have been some feeling for Jim.”

While the Breeders’ Cup in a fortnight comes quick enough, there are options in Hong Kong and Japan that Anmaat could have been in the mix for.

Gold said: “To me, the position we are now in with the majority of our older horses likely to be retired, he could be our only flag bearer.

“Now he’s proved he’s a Group One horse here – I know he’s about to turn seven but he hasn’t got a lot of mileage – he’s a very important horse for us next year. If Sheikha Hissa wants to keep him in training, I haven’t had that conversation yet, but I can’t see any reason why not as he’s a gelding.

“She may want him to go to Dubai or Saudi, who knows, but from my point of view we want to be trying to win some big races in Europe and he’s our number one. It’s not like we’ve five or six three-year-olds next year to take over the mantle, he’s the number one now and we’ve got to treat him accordingly.”