Jim Goldie is confident his star sprinter American Affair can come to the boil at the right time as he looks to retain his King Charles III Stakes crown. American Affair was not seen after his success here, having picked up an injury. He blew the cobwebs away at York on reappearance, before an excellent second to Night Raider at Haydock.
Speaking to the Press Association, via At The Races, Jim Goldie said: “We’re very happy with him, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating won’t it?
“The ground looks as though it is going to be exactly the way it was last year. We’ve got a similar draw which is good and there’s plenty of pace around us. We’re next to the Australian horse who you would think will go quick. But our horse thinks he’s pretty quick as well!
“It should be a good race and we’re looking forward to it.”
Aussies to raid British sprinting scene again
Ahead of American Affair at Haydock was Night Raider, who’s now unbeaten since being gelded. He proved he wasn’t one dimensional when coming from rear, but is likely to revert to prominent tactics. That pair may prove the best of the British, but they have a strong Aussie challenger in the form of Overpass.
The Aussie’s took this prize with Asfoora in 2024, who could only manage fifth last season. Henry Dwyer’s mare has been out of sorts this term, but another Aussie challenger is primed to take the contest. Bjorn Baker’s Overpass has a record of 10-36 in his career including two Group 1’s. While he is 0-7 of late, he was only a length behind Ka Ying Rising four starts ago.
That form is strong in the context of this average sprinting scene, and he might not need to improve much on it. Baker said: “Overpass has been a remarkable horse. He is very much best fresh, which means we space out his runs.
“He ran very well in the TJ Smith, albeit on a track that was probably too wet for him. The options were Brisbane or here. So given that we want to sell the dream worldwide, we decided to come here.
“I guess the stiff, straight five furlongs here is a little bit of a question mark. Overpass has raced three times down the straight at Flemington, including winning a sales race comfortably enough as a three-year-old. Early on in his career, he ran very well behind Nature Strip over 1,100 metres. You could argue that is his best distance. He has tended to run over 1,200 metres because that is how the races have fallen.
Baker concluded: “It is hard to know if he is a worthy favourite. At the end of the day, you can only worry about your own horse. I do not pay too much attention to odds.”