Jim Crowley can’t wait for Battaash’s Nunthorpe battle with Lady Aurelia
Crowley gets the leg up on the exciting young sprinter who blitzed the field in the King George Stakes at Glorious Goodwood and now takes on American speedster Lady Aurelia
JIM CROWLEY has plenty to smile about.
Reigning champion jockey, two Group 1 winners this season and one of the top jobs in Flat racing.
But don’t be surprised if you spot his perma-grin getting even wider this week. That’s most likely down to the hottest sprinter in town – Battaash.
Crowley, 39, had only sat on Charlie Hills’ rapid-improver once before the pair scorched the Goodwood turf with victory in the Group 2 King George two weeks ago.
Battaash – owned by Crowley’s boss Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum – had earlier burst on to the sprinting scene with a brace of impressive Sandown victories under Dane O’Neill.
At York on Friday he will face the most acidic of tests when taking on sizzling American speedster Lady Aurelia in a frantic dash down the straight for the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes.
Crowley told me: “I’d only ridden him once before Goodwood. I went down to Charlie Hills’ the week before to ride him work.
“It was just a routine piece of work – I pulled up at the top of the gallops grinning from ear to ear.
“He just gave me a really good feeling. I said to Charlie when I got off that it was like riding a motorbike up the gallops.”
Some of the country’s quickest sprinters went full throttle at Goodwood – but none of them could get close to Battaash.
Runner-up Profitable – a Group 1 winner – had chased home Lady Aurelia from a similar distance in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Some of the finest judges of racehorses have no doubts that Battaash is from the very top drawer. Crowley is one of them.
He said: “It was a really good race at Goodwood – a Group 2 only in name. Timeform were clearly impressed with him – they have rated him the highest horse in Europe. Hopefully they’re right.
“He had only won on good to firm so I was concerned with the ground being much softer at Goodwood.
“When you’ve got a horse with so much natural speed you worry the ground will blunt their speed.
“It was great that he went through it because it means if York was to get a bit of rain it wouldn’t worry him at all.
“He’s naturally a very fast horse. He’s only three – he’s got no miles on the clock so hopefully he can keep progressing.”
With Wesley Ward’s US raider Lady Aurelia likely to go from the front with rapid Take Cover, the Nunthorpe promises to be the biggest burn-up since 1666.
None of it phases ex-jump jockey Crowley.
He said: “Battaash is one of those horse you don’t want to interfere with him too much. If he jumps well you let him bowl along. If he’s doing his own thing he’s happy.
“At Goodwood Take Cover – one of the fastest horses around for the first few furlongs – wasn’t quick enough to lead him. I’ve no qualms about him laying up with Lady Aurelia.
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“He gives you a fantastic feel. We’re lucky we’ve got a very fast one out in Dubai called Ertijaal. It’s just like driving a very fast car – it’s a hell of a feeling.
“I’ve been around Goodwood’s motor racing circuit a few times – it’s a similar sort of feeling.”
Comparisons to Ferraris and Aston Martins are to be expected. The one horsepower of Battaash certainly looks more valuable the most prized super car.
But that value won’t be at stud. He’s already been parted with the necessary equipment after proving a “bit of a handful” last season.
His speed genes might not be passed on to future generations but it does mean he’s likely to be around far longer than the average champion racehorse.
The same applies to Crowley. There was a time when his daily staple was staying chases and heavy-ground hurdles – a world away from York’s flying five-furlong Nunthorpe.
He rode around 300 jumps winners before taking the plunge to reinvent himself as a Flat jockey 11 years ago. His rewards for his brave move are obvious.
Crowley – married to Amanda Perrett’s sister Lucinda – said: “It’s a long time ago now that I switched and a few lads have followed suit – Graham Lee, PJ McDonald, Timmy Murphy. I obviously started off a bit of a trend.
“I would say 40, 42 would be top end for a jump jockey – I would like to think I’ve got another good ten years ahead of me now.
“When I switched I just wanted to prolong my career and make a better living. It certainly wasn’t to be champion jockey.
“As every season progressed it become more possible to be champion. It’s been great to be able to have done that.
“Last year I had an ambition to be champion jockey – it was the one thing I wanted to do. I set my stall out to do it. I’m very positive and I never think I can’t do something.
“It was a bit more difficult this year being retained. I’m very lucky to be in a great position now - it’s hard to have your cake and eat it.
“I’d much rather be in the position I’m in now than I was this time last year. I feel proud about what I’ve done and hopefully I can still keep going forward.”
Retaining his champion jockey’s crown might not be easy with Silvestre De Sousa streaking clear. But dad-of-three Crowley heads the chasing pack.
He’ll need to repeat his record-breaking 46 winners last September if he’s to have any chance of catching De Sousa but his 71 winners so far includes some of the season’s biggest prizes.
He landed the Coral-Eclipse on Ulysses after a thrilling battle with Barney Roy up the Sandown hill and he was on board Here Comes When in the Sussex Stakes slog.
But Nunthorpe victory on Battaash - in his first season since replacing Paul Hanagan in the famous blue-and-white silks of his boss Sheikh Hamdan - would top the lot.
Crowley, who grew up just a few furlongs from Ascot racecourse, said: “It’s been great to pick up some big winners for outside yards but, from a personal point of view, I want to do it for Sheikh Hamdan. That’s the most important.
“He’s had the faith in me to come and get me as his first jockey. It would be a great feeling if I could repay him by banging in a Group 1 winner in my first year.”