'Surreal' result as 150-1 shot Qirat wins Sussex Stakes

The teeth, perhaps, were slightly gritted, but Richard Hannon offered some perspective after watching his colt, Rosallion, finish second to the 150-1 shot Qirat in the Sussex Stakes yesterday.

- Greg Wood

"That's horse racing," the trainer said. "That's what keeps us all in it. It's not a great day when you're second in these races but we're lucky to be part of them."

Mundane words like "shock" and "upset" do not come close to describing the result of this Group One contest, one of the most prestigious and prized events in the global racing calendar, which was won by a horse that finished 27th of 30 runners in the Royal Hunt Cup Handicap on his previous trip to the track. Qirat, as the stewards drily noted afterwards, "appeared to show improved form compared with its previous run".