William Buick dedicates £1.3million race victory to racing friend following sudden death

Top jockey William Buick dedicated victory in one of Britain’s richest horse races on Wednesday to a racing friend who died suddenly last week.

In the £1.3 million Juddmote International, Buick had the chance to avenge the defeat of Royal Ascot winner Ombudsman in the Coral-Eclipse Stakes by the Aidan O’Brien-trained Delacroix. Ombudsman’s trainers John and Thady Gosden hatched a new plan which involved supplementing the also Godolphin-owned Birr Castle, trained in France by Andre Fabre, to make the running for the 7-4 favourite.

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For a moment the race looked set to live up to its reputation as the ‘graveyard of champions’ as the 150-1 Birr Castle, under Robert Havlin, raced into a 20 lengths lead at halfway.

The pursuers gradually reduced the margin but he clung on until a furlong out, where Ombudsman swept past to score by three and a half lengths from Delacroix. Birr Castle held on for third, but the winning rider’s first thoughts were for his friend Duncan Pearce.

Buick said: “We lost our dear friend Duncan last week. Duncan loved his racing. He was meant to be here this week. I was supposed to have dinner with him tonight. He passed away suddenly. His partner Sarah is being very brave at the moment. He would have been very proud to be here. This is for him.

“Duncan would always come here for the Ebor meeting. He was friends with a lot of people here who would know him. He was only 55. It was very sad and very sudden.”

John Gosden admitted that there was a moment when he feared another of his stars would be beaten by the pacemaker, as top miler Field Of Gold experienced in the Sussex Stakes last month won by 150-1 Qirat.

"I thought with two furlongs to run Andre had won the race!,” he said. “You don't often see that, he's run a huge race to be third. I did say to William that if he'd sat four lengths off the pacemaker he'd have won by ten lengths but there we go.”

He continued: "What happened was the Japanese jockey was with Rab (Havlin on Birr Castle) but then he kept taking back and let Rab slip the field. Past the two marker, he was still six lengths in front. William said when he let him (Ombudsman) go, he absolutely flew and went from second gear to fifth gear in the blink of an eye."

Ombudsman had finished a neck behind Delacroix in the Eclipse last time out, but Gosden felt that race was perhaps not run to suit.

He said: "The Eclipse was a muddling race and we'll leave it at that. Full marks to Delacroix, but in an evenly-run race we were the superior horse today.

"The two obvious races for him are the Irish Champion and Ascot for Champions Day. It will be Sheikh Mohammed's decision if he stays in training but he is a sportsman.

"William thinks he'll stay a mile and a half but I think why change things? Were he to go for the Arc, we'd need one of the rare occasions with a fast-ground Arc - which do happen occasionally."