- Jockey predicted victory before the race
- He rode the UK champion to perfection.
- Double protest filed
Lake Forest, trained by William Haggas, won a thrilling Golden Eagle (1500m) at Rosehill Gardens with Cieren Fallon in the saddle.
The British runner charged over the fence to defeat the French horse Lazzat in a thrilling finish to the $10 million race.
However, fifth-place finisher Stefi Magnetica’s connections protested second-place finisher Lazzat, while Lazzat’s connections also protested Lake Forest.
But both protests were ultimately dismissed, allowing the Lake Forest connections to finally celebrate.
Lake Forest stormed home along the fence to claim victory at the Golden Eagle, but two protests immediately followed.
Jockey Cieren Fallon predicted Golden Eagle’s victory before the race began.
“We are absolutely delighted with the horse,” said William Haggas stable representative Isabella Paul.
Fallon, son of former English basketball champion Kieren Fallon, had sent an ominous warning to the field before the victory.
“Cieren (Fallon) has run the most beautiful race and we used that explosive turn of the foot and my God, those last 200 meters were so impressive.”
“He feels great and I think he’s grown,” Fallon said.
He looks much better here than at home.
“Issy (Paul) has done a great job with him.”
The Japanese horse Ascoli Piceno had received strong backing from bookmakers in the run-up to the race, but never appeared.