Baaeed ‘a great horse’, but Carson remembers sheer speed of Dayjur

Simon Milham
October 16, 2022 4:19 pm

‘He was some horse, possibly the quickest horse there has ever been’.

Dayjur was arguably the fastest horse anyone ever rode, according to Hall of Fame jockey Willie Carson.

Of all the top horses he partnered in a riding career that spanned over 35 years, he says none came remotely close to the crack sprinter in terms of speed and any comparisons to Baaeed – who signed off his 11-race career with a brave defeat when fourth to Bay Bridge in the Qipco Champion Stakes at Ascot on Saturday – are nonsensical.

Carson helped make famous the royal blue and white silks of the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell operation when partnering the likes of Classic winners Nashwan, Salsabil and Erhaab to success.

Yet he admits that no horse was quicker than Dayjur, trained by the late Major Dick Hern.

As unlucky losers go on Friday the 13th…@BreedersCup #Dayjur pic.twitter.com/tiOF7DTwE5
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) November 13, 2020

Five-time champion Carson, officially inducted to the British Flat Racing Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the Berkshire track, was an interested bystander as he watched Jim Crowley, wearing the same silks, gallantly fail to steer Baaeed to what would have been a seventh consecutive Group One success in the Qipco Champion Stakes.

“Baaeed is a great horse. You can’t take anything away from him. It’s racing. Defeats happen, but it is unfortunate,” said Carson.

Eighty next month, the Scot insisted that Baaeed could not match Dayjur for pace, as he was unstoppable on his day.

Victorious in the King’s Stand, Nunthorpe, Haydock Sprint Cup and Prix de l’Abbaye, Dayjur won seven of his 11 career starts.

Yet, like Baaeed, he will always be remembered for the race he did not win, his swansong in the 1990 Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Belmont Park, where he overcame a wide draw and looked set to score, only to fly-jump a shadow near the line and the line itself, before going down a neck to Safely Kept.

Carson still believes there was no quicker horse.

“Baaeed can’t be compared to Dayjur, as they ran over different distances,” said Carson.

“Dayjur was the fastest horse I ever rode and I believe he was the fastest horse anybody ever rode – he was a machine, an absolute machine.

Baaeed after the Champion Stakes (Simon Milham/PA)

“He was not just a good horse, but a machine. His best trip was five furlongs, although he won over six.

“We did run him over six because of his class, but over five he was unbeatable.”

He added: “I remember the day he won the King’s Stand at Ascot (1990). It was pouring with rain and Dick Hern was worried and he asked me if we should run.

“I said it was not for me to say either way, and so he went to Hamdan and went with the idea of taking him out, but Hamdan said, ‘run, run’. That was proper soft ground, a lot of rain on racing ground.

“It wasn’t ideal for him, but it didn’t seem to make much difference. He was too good for them and won easily (by two and a half lengths). He was some horse, possibly the quickest horse there has ever been.”