Audience was a shock winner of the Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.
The 22-1 shot was very much the second string for John and Thady Gosden, with stablemate Inspiral considered the main chance for Cheveley Park Stud, who own both horses.
Big Rock was another obvious major player on his first run for Maurizio Guarnieri, but the runaway Queen Elizabeth II hero never got involved as Audience – trying a mile for the first time having been a proven Group Two/Three performer at seven furlongs – was sent to the head of the field under Robert Havlin to set the fractions early on.
The sizeable lead he had built up then began to look insurmountable, with only Roger Varian's Charyn able to give valiant chase, crossing the line a length and a quarter in arrears.
🏆 The @AlShaqabRacing Lockinge Stakes 🏆
— Newbury Racecourse (@NewburyRacing) May 18, 2024
🥇 Audience
🥈 Charyn
🥉 Witch Hunter
Audience makes all the running to take the Group 1 feature race! Congratulations to Rab Havlin on his second G1 🤩 @WorldPool | @ChampionsSeries | @CPStudOfficial pic.twitter.com/61bDGq9RxX
"When you know what this horse is and what he’s done, then don’t leave him alone," said John Gosden.
"He’s been working very well and I didn’t think Rab would be left in splendid isolation out in front, but I knew he would get a hell of a run out of him. I told Rab to go straight and he followed his line of mowing and no one came near him. It’s wonderful for Rab as he puts all the work in with him.
"He’s a wild boy, but he’s a horse with ability – look at the Kinross race, the City of York.
"He’s got solid Group form and he’s learnt to relax more with age, if you leave a horse like that alone he’s going to be very dangerous. We always knew he was going to be part of it and I thought he could maybe finish in the first four or five. As it was they ignored him and all got racing on the other side.
"The idea was he was there with Big Rock and softens up Big Rock, but he never really saw Big Rock. He thoroughly enjoyed himself and is a grand horse. Mrs Thompson kept him in training very kindly rather than him going to Hong Kong so he could be a lead horse for Inspiral and I think he has covered himself in glory."
For Havlin the success was a second at Group One level, and on a horse he knows well as he has ridden him in nearly all of his career starts.
"It’s a nice surprise, last year we ran him over sprinting trips at the start," he said.
"He’s a little bit of a thug, he ran some great races last year and really stayed on at the end.
"This was always going to be a starting point, I didn’t think he’d be good enough to beat Inspiral but he’s always threatened to have a good one in him.
"He gave himself a breather, you’re a little bit of a passenger on him. You just let him get on with it, we’ve learnt from experience that you don’t try to organise him.
"You let him do what he wants. He’s super talented. It’s his first run over a mile and last year he would never have got a mile, he was just too much like a bull in a China shop.
"He’s had good horses around him and if he can improve over a mile, which he obviously has, there’ll be some nice races to win with him."
