The Charles Hill-trained horse is eyeing victory in the Nunthorpe Stakes on Friday
Battaash, the second-favourite for the Nunthorpe Stakes at York on Friday, has produced two or three performances during his career which strongly suggest that Charlie Hills’s five-year-old is the fastest thoroughbred on the planet. Famously, however, or notoriously, if you prefer, he has never managed to do so at York, having finished fourth on both of his previous starts in the Nunthorpe, including an odds-on failure 12 months ago. That is one reason why Battaash is a 5-2 chance to make it third time lucky, despite two performances this season, at Haydock and Goodwood, which were up there with his very best. The other is the presence in the field of Ten Sovereigns, a brilliant winner of the July Cup last time out, whose prowess among European sprinters will be beyond doubt if he can reproduce that form dropping back to five furlongs for the first time in his career.
Related: Enable wins Yorkshire Oaks to extend winning streak to 12 races