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ANDREW BALDING
RACING AHEADISSUE 178The trainer reflects on a bitter sweet
day at the races for his yard
Beat The Bank
was a warrior
T
HE highs and lows of racing
were brought into sharp
focus for Andrew Balding
when he had the joy of Beat
The Bank winning the
Summer Mile at Ascot — only for the
horse to suffer a fatal injury just as he
crossed the line.
The trainer was having a brilliant day
with big wins for Pass The Gin and
Pivoine in high-profile Saturday races
before tragedy struck.
The trainer said: “People often talk
about the highs and lows of racing and
Saturday really was one of those days.
We had the highs of Pass The Gin,
Pivoine and Beat The Bank, but then
the very lowest of lows with Beat The
Bank suffering a fatal injury when
crossing the line after he had won his
second Summer Mile at Ascot.
“It’s always very sad and tough when
you lose a horse, but he did so much
for us and was just a magnificent race-
horse. To win five Group Twos is
incredibly hard to do and even though
he didn’t win a Group One, he couldn’t
have gone much closer in the Queen
Anne last month.
“He was so tough, he never knew
when he was beat and he showed all
his bravery again. It’s heartbreaking for
everyone at the yard as well as those
involved with King Power Racing. He
was such a popular horse, the chair-
man absolutely loved him and he was a
big reason why he became so passion-
ate about racing.
“Kevin Hunt and Sandeep Gau-
ravaram, who looked after him, will feel
the pain as much as anyone, as will
Josh Bryan who rode him out every
morning.
“It was tragic for him to go out like
that, but he has given us so many great
days and we will remember him forev-
er. I’d also like to thank everyone for all
the kind messages.”
Pivoine dug deep to win the presti-
gious and hard-to-win John Smith’s
Cup at York.
Balding told his Betway blog: “I said
that we were very hopeful about
Pivoine in the John Smith’s Cup and he
did brilliantly to win what is one of the
most valuable and competitive handi-caps of the season.
“I thought Rob Hornby gave him an
outstanding ride, he had him perfectly
positioned throughout and made his
move at exactly the right time.
“Pivoine loves York, he is two from
two over course and distance now, so
we will obviously try to find another
race for him there at some point, but
we haven’t got a plan at the moment.
“He will have to step up again when
he is reassessed, but this was a lovely
race to win.
“Another winner for us was Pass The
Gin in the six furlong fillies’ handicap at
Chester.
“He has been knocking on the door
this season, so it was nice to get his
head in front.
“He loves it at Chester, both his wins
have come on the Roodee, and William
Cox gave him a very good ride.
“I can’t imagine he will go up too
much for this so I’m sure we’ll look for
another race at Chester over the
summer.”PivoineAndrew
Balding
RA