Fraser setting sights on Goodwood after dramatic weekend

After surviving a bite from an unruly rival when registering a double at Ascot on Saturday, nothing can dampen the spirits of Kaiya Fraser as he now looks ahead to more golden opportunities at the Qatar Goodwood Festival later this month.

Fraser’s performance in the saddle was one of the highlights at Ascot this weekend but not before there was remarkable drama ahead of the the Juddmonte EBF Restricted Novice Stakes when the withdrawn Mr Twig took out his frustration by biting the jockey and sending him crashing to the turf while waiting to load aboard eventual winner Dr Rascal.

Although in some discomfort – and with the 23-year-old admitting he remains sore from the bizarre incident – thankfully he was was able haul himself off the floor to steer Oliver Cole’s youngster to an impressive all-the-way success.

Fraser said: “Michael Bell’s horse (Mr Twig) was messing about in the stalls and they’ve pulled him out, but as they’ve pulled him out of the gates he’s got loose and run around and then out of nowhere grabbed a hold of my thigh.

“He didn’t give me a chance and my horse got a bit nervous after that and kind of ran off and he got loose. Michael Bell’s horse gave me a sore leg and it’s still a bit sore now. It was a crazy couple of minutes but luckily we were able to get back in the stalls and go and win the race.”

Fraser enjoyed a red-letter weekend in Berkshire, with a win on Friday meaning he was successful on three of his four mounts at the track over the course of two days.

It continues a fine run for the young rider who has notched 32 winners this term and is making the most of his budding relationships with key allies in the training ranks.

“It’s always special to ride a winner at Ascot, let alone two and on a Saturday as well,” continued Fraser.

“I was delighted but I was going into the weekend knowing I had some great chances and luckily I’ve had a great weekend and everyone is happy. I’ve got to ride some nice horses over the last few days.”

He went on: “It’s going well this season and I’ve got a lot of great connections thanks to my agent James Forrest and I’m getting put up on some nice horses.

“Harry Eustace has been my boss for over three years now and I like to think we have a great relationship and I also have a great relationship with Rebecca Menzies who started using me when I was an apprentice, and I ride the majority of hers.”

Fraser’s fine run could now put him in the spotlight at the Qatar Goodwood Festival where he will be hoping for a less eventful precursor to Dr Rascal putting his unbeaten record on the line in the Vintage Stakes.

The jockey will also have a trump card up his sleeve in the form of Menzies’ Molecomb-bound speedball Adonius, who has blitzed his way to three impressive victories so far this year with Fraser in the plate.

He added: “I’m looking forward to Goodwood and it has always been one of the targets for Adonius, he’s very quick and obviously I’ve picked up this nice horse for Mr Oliver Cole, Dr Rascal, who is two from two now and showed how much ability he had at Ascot.

“I think after everything that happened you could see how much of a good mentality he has which is one of his main attributes.”