Here Comes When wins the Qatar Sussex Stakes

The Andrew Balding-trained gelding, ridden by champion jockey Jim Crowley in the colours of Fitri Hay, scored by a neck from the 8/13 favourite Ribchester, with Lightning Spear a further three-quarters of a length third of the seven runners. The expected clash between Ribchester and Churchill failed to materialise when the last-named colt was withdrawn on account of the going, as was Zonderland.

Here Comes When was entered in a handicap at the meeting on Friday. Instead he became the first seven-year-old winner of the Qatar Sussex Stakes (it was restricted to three-year-olds until 1959), and while he was fourth in it two years ago, and had landed a pair of Group Two contests in 2014, this was his biggest triumph. In six seasons of racing he had won £280,000, a worthy sum by any standards, but today he doubled it, adding £560,000 to his tally.

Balding said: "He was always travelling strongly through the race and that gave him a chance of being placed, but I thought Lightning Spear would beat us and then Ribchester. Happily they didn't.

"This rain was forecast, so the conditions are not totally unexpected. We hoped he would run well, there's good  money all the way down and he loves the ground and likes the track. He's been in great form this year. Jim [Crowley] thought we would be in the first three and he gave him a great ride.

"He won two Group Twos as a four-year-old and has always been a handy horse, but he needs these conditions. We were lucky the race fell away a little bit, but you still have to run to a very good level to win it, which he did. It's one of my more improbable Group One triumphs, but he was 20/1, so not completely without a chance.

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