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00:00In Hamish and Desert Hero, William Haggis has both a proven stayer and one of the
00:04up-and-coming three-year-olds of that division. They will each be aimed at a
00:07sledger in Ireland and in England. We spoke to the trainer and his wife Maureen
00:11who rides Hamish every day, about the pair.
00:14I've ridden him since he was a three-year-old.
00:16He had a nasty tendon injury as a four-year-old, which he did at Ascot in
00:22the hardwood, so he was off for a year.
00:26You know, to breed a horse as nice as this is quite an achievement,
00:29and the rest of them, you know. He's bred some really good horses, Brian, from a
00:33very small band of mares, so it's, you know, breeding full-stop's not easy.
00:39There's so much that can go wrong, so to get a live one with four legs facing in
00:46the right direction that can actually go a bit is an achievement, really.
00:56He's been campaigned so beautifully that he's still willing to go 100% and go
00:59deeply every time. It's fantastic and a pleasure to be a part of what he does,
01:04because you know he's there for you.
01:06He's gone strength to strength this year.
01:08We ran him at Newbury, and he'd come back from Newbury, and he was amazing.
01:12His temperament changed, he was relaxing in his work a lot better, and he was just
01:18a different horse. What can you say? It's what dreams are made of, isn't it?
01:22You have a runner for the king at Royal Ascot.
01:25We hoped that the handicap at Ascot might be the right race for him, and he did very well to win.
01:30They went very fast, and it may have flattered the horses that came from the back,
01:35but all the horses in the front at the end came from the back at the top of the straight.
01:41I think it's really important for everyone. It's especially important for the king and the queen,
01:46who is very involved as well, because it's important that they have some success,
01:51and obviously the late Queen of Red, Desert Hero, so that's poignant in itself.
01:59Ascot was a story in itself, and I think growing up as a jockey,
02:06the biggest dream is riding a winner in the Royal Silks at Royal Ascot.
02:10It does not get better, and I know people will go,
02:13the group ones and all of this, but that will be very hard to surpass,
02:18and I don't think it ever will be, as a personal highlight.
02:21He's obviously then taken that form to another level,
02:24went and scooted in the Gordon Stakes the other day,
02:27and now all excitement builds at the same leisure.