Haggas thrilled with Lake Forest's successful trip down under

In 2025, Lake Forest, the remarkable Golden Eagle victor trained by William Haggas, could have a world of opportunities at his disposal.

Owned by Brighton and Hove Albion's wiley chief Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy, the British-trained horse made history with a triumphant campaign down under, conquering the world's second-richest turf race and bagging an impressive £2 million in prize money.

Before visiting Australia, Lake Forest had never raced beyond six furlongs. However, he effortlessly took to seven-and-a-half furlongs

Haggas is now open to the possibility he could go well over a mile.

He said: “He was fantastic, what a performance. He’s on his way home actually, he had to go to Melbourne to fly home and he’s on his way to Heathrow.

“He won’t run again this year but he will come back next year with lots of options now as he looked like a mile would be well within his compass which opens a few doors.

“He won a lot of money but still hasn’t won a Group One – even though the monetary value of the race is Group One level it was actually a conditions race.

“We need to prioritise winning a Group One now, he won a Group Two (Gimcrack Stakes) as a two-year-old and has been second in a Group One (behind Inisherin in the Commonwealth Cup).

“He’s a really useful horse and we can hopefully look forward to some good days next year.”