Farhh a brilliant winner of the Lockinge Godolphin's Farhh (10/3) ran out a hugely impressive winner of the Group One JLT Lockinge Stakes at Newbury. The five year old colt began last season by winning the Thirsk Hunt Cup but jumped straight up to Group One level where he finished no worse than third in five subsequent starts, twice finishing second to Frankel. A mile appeared to be at the bottom end of his range last season but the strong pace set by Reply undoubtedly helped bring his stamina into play as he routed his rivals to complete a double on the card for Saeed bin Suroor. Penitent cut out the early fractions alongside Reply but the latter increased the tempo fully five furlongs from home and stretched a couple of lengths clear. A number of those in behind failed to cope with the move with Libranno, Trumpet Major and leading fancy Cityscape among them. In contrast, Aljamaaheer, Farhh and the gambled on Declaration Of War moved ominously well but it was Farhh who assumed control of the race with around a furlong and a half to run. Silvestre de Sousa's mount soon powered clear with his rivals failing to cope with his burst of speed as Farhh went on to score by four lengths. Declaration Of War weakened tamely to finish out of the frame as Sovereign Debt (80/1) and Aljamaaheer (16/1) filled the places with Chil The Kite in fourth. De Sousa, riding his first Group One winner in Britain, said: "He definitely deserved to get his head in front. He did it in great fashion and travelled so sweetly. He got a bit lonely and I had to give him a slap behind the saddle, but he won very handily and will come on for the run." Simon Crisford, racing manager to the Godolphin operation, said: "He won really well, it did surprise me as he has been a very difficult horse to train and Saeed has had to tip-toe very quietly with him. He's really done that very impressively." Referring to recent high-profile Godolphin problems, Crisford said: "It's fantastic, particularly after all the problems we have had in the last few weeks. "It's a major boost to the stable." On future plans for Farhh, Crisford said: "We were slightly concerned about the (mile) trip today but he did it so well that maybe we will go to the Queen Anne. We'll see, we'll weigh up both races (Queen Anne and Prince of Wales's Stakes), keep options open and see what Sheikh Mohammed wants to do. "He deserved it, he kept on finishing second to the best horse of all time last year, so to see him win a Group One was fantastic." Michael Bell said of 80-1 runner-up Sovereign Debt: "His work at home has always shown he is more a 120 horse than a 110, I wasn't surprised to see him run well. This was a career-best, for sure. "He is a very exciting horse to have. He's in the Queen Anne at Ascot, which I am sure the owner will be keen to have a look at." Roger Varian said of third home Aljamaaheer: "It was worth coming, I'm quite pleased with that run although we would have preferred to win." The winner was cut to 3/1 from 8s by Sky Bet for the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.
