David Ord on Trawlerman’s success

After a wonderful week on the Knavesmire, Britain’s richest handicap, Sky Bet Ebor, fell to one of the game’s powerhouses.

Trawlerman, who wore the white cap as a Godolphin second thong, showed tremendous determination to scoop the £500,000 prize after the nod from Alfred Boucher, who was making his second appearance at this year’s festival after coming second on Wednesday -mile handicap.

That suddenly seems like weeks ago. The end of the Gosden-Dettori partnership was. Post-Royal Ascot, the senior of the two trainers, revealed they had agreed to a sabbatical with their longtime stable jockey.

It had been one of the most enduring partnerships in the sport, but suddenly the wheels fell apart. When he went to Epsom this year, Dettori could probably count on the fingers of one hand how big races he would have raced, he would have liked to try again.

At the end of Royal Ascot he could have filled the second well.

Stradivarius in the Gold Cup seemed to be the straw that broke the camel’s back, although I’d be surprised if Dettori wasn’t at least a little relieved when it was confirmed he wouldn’t be on board at Goodwood.

Gosden felt his regulars lacked match practice.

“We don’t want to go into details, but there were too many other things happening in his life. He knows that, he’s the best and closest friend, but there have been too many vacations,” he said.

“I couldn’t get his attention – I couldn’t get him to focus, that’s all. In the end we gave him a bit of a public warning – that’s the way it is. He was left on the bench like he was being seated by a football manager.”

But slowly the thaw set in. He was back on board the Inspiral for the Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket and has been a regular at the Clarehaven Hotseat ever since.

And the beauty of a partnership like this is when it works, when you instinctively know what the other is thinking and fully trust their judgment.

When Trawlerman ended up in stable 20, a decision had to be made. Did they pop in and ride their luck like the Get Shirty team, from an even bigger draw, or did they resort to a familiar tactic?

It was option B. Cameramen could barely keep Trawlerman on screen as he hugged the far railing and raced in glorious isolation before being brought over from the backstretch just before the corner to lead the peloton.

Already seen? You have. Also in this race.

“He had him well out there but he’s from Golden Horn so we knew the bloodline tactic would work, after all that’s what we did to him in the arc! But he rode it beautifully. He looked pretty lonely out there, I agree, but it’s not a bad tactic and you’ll see about eight doing it next year,” Gosden said.

“We did it with the Arc in 2015. We did it here with Muntahaa at Ebor 2018 and Jim Crowley thought I was crazy. I said it’s a Baldrick plan that can work. When the draw came out, Frankie and I just looked at each other and didn’t have to say anything. We knew what we were going to do.”

Breaking the tie wasn’t the team’s primary concern, however, as Trawlerman previously circled the parade ring. It got him to the stalls with a smile on his face.

“They kindly let us start early,” Gosden said. “If he loses his composure and gets angry he can destroy any starting gate like he did at the Classic Trial at Sandown – he’s quite a challenge. I’ve always liked him and thought he was the guy who might have made a Leger horse last year but it didn’t quite pan out but he’s won an Ebor now so that’s great.”

And with that, Gosden had to accept the winner’s trophy from the sponsors’ Conor Grant, and Dettori did what he does best – putting smiles on the faces of the Sporting Memories Foundation, who received a check for £20,000 as winners of the Ebor Community Sweepstakes.

Well, not quite what he does best. That means winning the big races with rides that ensure the fine margins go his partner’s way. It’s good to have him back.

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