Lazzat

What makes Lazzat particularly interesting is the profile Reynier describes: not quite a pure sprinter, more of a "flyer" who needs a bit of a test to show his best. The trainer points to a run at Chantilly where he clocked a rapid time, and the horse directly behind him that day went on to win a Group 2 at the Curragh. That kind of context matters — it suggests Lazzat had been performing at the top level even before Ascot confirmed it. The stiff, uphill finish at Ascot suited him perfectly, and jockey James Doyle reported afterwards that had the field been grouped together rather than spread across the track, the winning margin might have been even more convincing. Lazzat won anyway. That is what tough horses do.

His fifth-place finish at Haydock tells a different story, and Reynier is candid about why: the track was too sharp and compact for a horse who likes to be prominent and let his stride do the work over a slightly longer trip. He was being asked to fight as early as three furlongs out, which is not where you want to be. He did stay on — he was not beaten far — but it was the wrong race on the wrong day, which is a very different thing from a horse going backwards.

He has not raced for around six months, which means there will be questions about freshness and fitness when he returns. But Reynier has spoken about targeting international options in the new season, and a horse who won 1 in every 3 races at the very top level of the sport — Class 1, at Ascot, against the best sprinters in Europe — arrives back with serious credentials. If the track suits and the field runs together, Lazzat could be a genuinely exciting proposition.