It was a fantastic day at York on Thursday (22nd August) as we celebrated Diligently’s sensational performance, as he took home a winning prize after a late charge in final strides in the Harry’s Half Million By Goffs Premier Yearling Stakes.
Drawn wide in stall two he broke well in a furiously ran race, allowing him to travel readily just behind the leaders. As they approached closing stages, all eyes were on Arizona Blaze and it seemed this would leave us in a credible third place, but he found another gear inside the final furlong and dug deep to make up ground and challenge in a spectacular fashion, passing the leader close to home and win by a short head. This was a tremendous ride by his very determined jockey, Rossa Ryan, and an excellent result for his owner, Jason Goddard.
Having saddled Dragon Leader to win this same race last year, we are very proud to hail this successive victory with such a prominent contender as this one. We have known Diligently to be a tenacious colt, who has posted some good efforts on his last five maiden trips despite being unlucky over five furlongs, but this gritty performance amongst a heated field of 20 runners was a truly rewarding outcome in this valuable race. He holds promise and we look forward to seeing more from him next year. A very well done to the team at home for this impressive two-year-old result.
