Buick swoops for 2,000th British winner aboard El Cordobes

El Cordobes came to the fore to give William Buick his 2,000th British winner in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket.

The four-year-old was one of two Charlie Appleby-trained, Godolphin-owned horses in the race alongside Arabian Crown, and started at 7-2 with John and Thady Gosden’s Palladium the 13-8 favourite after the late withdrawal of Ghostwriter.

Buick took his time in the Group Two before knuckling down in the final three furlongs, when he switched out to find some room and kicked clear for a two-length win over Wimbledon Hawkeye for a famous success.

Buick said: “I haven’t really been counting down, I thought I was further away than what I was and then it got to single figures and obviously then you realise.

“It’s nice to do it at Newmarket.”

Buick, 36, has been Appleby’s principal rider since 2015 and has claimed four of the five British Classics, with the Oaks the only one missing.

He has won the last two renewals of the 2000 Guineas with Notable Speech and Ruling Court, doubling up in the 1000 this year on Desert Flower. He has claimed the St Leger three times and the 2018 Derby on Masar.

The only other jockeys still active to have ridden over 2,000 British winners are Joe Fanning, Jamie Spencer, Ryan Moore, Luke Morris and Jim Crowley, as well as Frankie Dettori, who is currently riding in America.