Never So Brave leads home valuable one-two for Balding

Never So Brave narrowly denied his stablemate Flora Of Bermuda to lead home a one-two for title-chasing Andrew Balding in the Thoroughbred Industry Employee Awards Challenge Stakes at Newmarket.

The Kingsclere handler leads the race in his bid to be crowned British champion trainer for the first time, but with Aidan O’Brien hot on his heels ahead of a big couple of days on the Rowley Mile and Champions Day at Ascot next weekend, it is clearly far from a done deal.

“I’ve been at the sales all week, but I’d imagine the team at home are pretty pumped for it,” Balding said of his title challenge.

“If we’re still the same after Champions Day then I’ll start to get excited, but I wouldn’t dare say it will be.”

A Group One winner in the City of York Stakes in August of last year, Never So Brave has struggled to replicate that form since, most recently finishing only sixth behind fellow Saeed Suhail-owned ace More Thunder in Doncaster’s Park Stakes.

He was a 4-1 shot for his latest Group Two assignment, with Flora Of Bermuda the 85-40 favourite, but bounced back to form to win the battle by a neck in the hands of Oisin Murphy.

Balding said: “Things haven’t gone right for him (Never So Brave) so I’m delighted he could get a win. He’s a talented horse, a pleasure to have in the yard, so I’m pleased both for him and his owner.

“Everything that could go wrong in every race he’s run this year has gone wrong so far, but it has worked out perfectly today.

“Hong Kong would be a possibility and I need to talk to the owner and see if it is of interest to him. If it is then he might be a suitable horse to go there.”

Of Flora Of Bermuda, he added: “I would have thought that will be Flora Of Bermuda’s last race and she’s run another cracker. She’s been a superstar and had a great season and it’s just a shame we had to run them against each other today – there just isn’t enough races at this time of year.”

Balding’s Qatar Racing Champions Day squad could include Kalpana, who will bid for a third victory in the British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes after finishing fifth in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

“We’ll be pretty light – I think we’ll only have Mount Atlas in the stayers’ race (Long Distance Cup) and possibly Kalpana,” the trainer continued.

“I haven’t seen a lot of her this week, but she seems to have come out of France OK and we’ll make that decision next week.

“We want to run her if we feel she is right but we can’t make that judgement now.”