Goldie has Nunthorpe in his sights with rejuvenated Affair

The six-year-old proved himself at the top level when winning the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer, but missed the remainder of the 2025 season due to injury.

A second to Night Raider in Haydock’s Temple Stakes suggested his ability remained intact, but having since finished last when defending his Royal Ascot crown and then sixth in a Listed race at York, he made the long trip from Scotland to the Sussex Downs with questions to answer.

Of his decision not to travel to Goodwood himself, trainer Jim Goldie said: “I obviously didn’t enjoy Ascot! I looked at the temperatures and just thought I didn’t need to go and I got as much satisfaction from the result as I would have if I’d been there.

“My son George was there and my granddaughter who rides him every day. There’s always somebody out before me and the horse is chaperoned wherever he goes. It’s their sort of team and it’s great for them to get the limelight.”

Goldie felt his stable star was underestimated in the Group Two King George Stakes, having gone off as a 12-1 shot, and pointed to a slight change in tactics as a major factor in American Affair’s return to form, praising too the performance of his rider Paul Mulrennan.

“He’s obviously talented and he’s been telling us he wanted to do what he did and we’ve been saying no as we’ve been trying to get him to go a bit slower and finish,” Goldie explained.

“It was remarkable the price he was and the way the pundits were talking beforehand as the Temple Stakes form was the key. The winner (Night Raider) was favourite and the horse that was fourth (Jakajaro) was second-favourite and the horse that was second was 16-1 or 18-1 at one stage. I was thinking ‘what race did you not see?’.

“After Ascot it was back to basics because it was a really disastrous run. You try to work out why it was so disastrous and tweak things. If training was straightforward everybody would be doing it wouldn’t they? It’s good we got it right.

“We were happy with the York run as he had the worst of the draw and there was a strong headwind and he couldn’t get out of it, so we were always going to be vulnerable. It wasn’t a disastrous run and to be honest it probably put him spot on.

“You have to say Paul Mulrennan is probably one of the best sprint jockeys there is. He’s won that race before on Moviesta (2013) who wouldn’t be straightforward and he’s won the Nunthorpe twice (on Mecca’s Angel in 2015 and 2016).

“He doesn’t get the opportunities that other jockeys get, but when he gets the right horse he’s the right jockey. He’s got a lot of experience and I think he’s hugely underrated.”

Goldie will now bid to bag a second Group One prize at York on August 21 before considering a potential trip to the Breeders’ Cup.

He said: “He’s been up the gallop and seems grand. That (York) is the plan and then we’ll see. If we win the Nunthorpe we might consider America as I think it’s one of those win and you’re in races.

“It’s a big ask and he’s not a straightforward horse to travel. If we win the Nunthorpe we’ll obviously have to think about it, but it’s probably not as straightforward as you might think.

“We’ve achieved what we set out to do which was to win that race at Goodwood so we’ll put the genie back in the bottle and if we win the Nunthorpe we might just try to win the King Charles again next year!”