Society Rocks in G1 Haydock Sprint

Society Rock (5h Rock Of Gibraltar-High Society, by Key Of Luck) saw off a top-class field at Haydock to gain a second top-grade success when winning the G1 Haydock Park Sprint for Rock Of Gibraltar. James Fanshawe’s stable star had won the G1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot but had been out of luck subsequently but he asserted his authority at Haydock when scoring by three-quarters of a length under Kieren Fallon. Society Rock, who was bred by San Gabrial Investments, had finished third in testing conditions in the G1 July Cup at Newmarket on his previous run and Fanshawe was delighted to get back on the winning trail. “It's been a real team effort, I just felt he was a very underrated horse. We've been really working on him in the stalls since the G1 July Cup and it's paid off today,” Fanshawe told sportinglife.com . “I haven't had a winner at Haydock in about three years, and I thought with the ground a bit quick and the stalls that we had no chance. I'm chuffed for the horse, the owner (Simon Gibson) and the yard.'' “You could say his best ever performance had been in the Golden Jubilee Stakes as a three-year-old (when second to Starspangledbanner in 2010) and that was on fast ground. I'm looking forward to the G1 Qipco Champions Sprint at Ascot in October. This is the second Group One he has won and he is a proper horse. If we had got his stalls problem organised a bit earlier, I'm sure his record would have been even better. He completely missed the break when he was fifth in this year's Golden Jubilee. He's always hovered there in these big sprint races.” Fallon added: “He travelled really well and I got all the splits down the rail that I needed. He's a little terrier and he tries very hard, which is what you need in this type of race. I followed James (Doyle, on Bated Breath) through as I thought he was the horse I had to beat, he gave me a lovely lead through and I was able to pick up on that fast ground.''