Royal Ascot: Rashabar and Loughnane triumph at 80/1 in the Coventry

sprang a huge surprise in the Coventry Stakes with an 80-1 success in the leading juvenile contest of the week for trainer and Manton Thoroughbreds as rising star of the weighing room celebrated a first-ever success. 

The only horse on the far side to figure at the finish, the Holy Roman Emperor colt just prevailed in the final reckoning and in quire a result for the layers as took second at 40-1, third at 50-1 and Cool Hoof Luke fourth at 40-1.

Loughnane told ITV Racing: "Wow, what a feeling.

"Brian was very confident coming into the race and my plan was always to go right [from stall 10], but the favourite was drawn to my left-hand side and the quickest way is a straight line. He was very tough and he had to do it the hard way.

"This is the best feeling in the world - you grow up watching races like this and it's been a dream of mine to try and win one. It's my first Group race in the UK and it means a lot."

The jockey's father, trainer Mark Loughnane, added:  "The minute he was born I put him on a rocking horse and he just gelled with it.

"Yes, dads are biased, but we all believe in our kids and he's now doing what I always thought he would. He just wants it.

"I'm never stuck for words, but I'm werlling up at the minute - this is what it's all about." 

Meehan said: “Dare I say it, it’s not a huge surprise. He’s felt very good since Chester, everything has gone very well with him throughout. said that when a horse runs around Chester it’s like having two runs, they learn so much, especially a two-year-old that had only run once before.

“We’ve felt really good the past few weeks, we were always aiming for here. There was a thought in my head throughout that he was never going to be a five-furlong horse, but we want to get two runs for our two-year-olds before Ascot. I didn’t think he’d win over five, but he ran very well, better than I thought, and at Chester he was badly drawn and had he not missed the break he’d have won. The form has worked out very well.

“We’re very lucky that we get to use Billy when we can. He’s a great kid with a lovely way about him, he’s wonderful with people and the world is his oyster.”

Asked how special it was to win the race with a horse carrying these colours, Meehan said: “It is. You can try to keep a lid on things now, but we’ll draw breath in an hour or so and take some pleasure out of it.

“Right now it’s just about showing what we can do, the team at home, the early mornings, the late nights, everything that’s done, the talking, the thinking and the working it out. It’s just very special.” 

Rashabar carries the famous silks of the late Robert Sangster under the Manton Thoroughbreds mantle and Sangster’s son, Sam, was emotional post-race. 

“I’m pretty much in tears behind my sunglasses, it was amazing," he said. "Brian has believed in the horse from day one and I really did feel we had a big chance.

“There was a reason I set the syndicate up 10 years ago, to keep the colours going. We have a lot of runners, it’s been fantastic in the last couple of years. We had last year and this fellow this year. I’m a bit lost for words and emotional, especially when you talk about the colours and my old man.”

Trainer said of the runner-up: “I got beat a neck across the track in the race with last year and we’ve got beat a nose in the race across the track this year.

“I guess it’s fantastic to be sent these horses from Wathnan, he ran a huge race and he’s going to be a proper two-year-old. I’m gutted, but delighted – the main thing is the horse ran well.

“I guess James (Doyle) had the choice between the three (Wathnan horses) and that had a bearing on his odds, but I think we’ve now had a third, a winner and two seconds in this race in the last three years.”

Richard Fahey’s Columnist was the third horse, and Wathnan’s racing adviser Richard Brown added: “It’s Archie I feel sorry for, but both have won fantastic races and we’re delighted.

“There’s a good team here from Qatar and none of us are under any illusions about how tough it is to win at Ascot and that race goes to show it.

“Well done to and his team, it was a great race and ours have performed with great credit. It’s mixed emotions, but we’ve got two very nice horses to look forward to.

“This project isn’t just about Ascot, it’s also about the future and that shows we have two nice horses to go to war with for the rest of the season.”