Hear the full interview
From 25:13 in Wednesday’s episode of Nick Luck Daily. Press play to start at the interview.
Henry de Bromhead says his stable has had “a lot of fun” with Ascending, who runs in the big staying handicap in Bahrain this week.
Ascending finished second to Ethical Diamond in the 2025 Ebor and fourth this year. He also won the Ascot Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2025, and was third in the Doncaster Cup on his latest start. “As soon as this race was announced, we were very keen to come,” de Bromhead told Nick Luck in Bahrain. “What a welcome we’ve had. I met His Highness Shaikh Isa this morning at the track. They’ve been brilliant and so welcoming, and we’re not even here 24 hours.”
‘He’s really come good’
Ascending only just made the cut for the big staying handicap. “He snuck in at the bottom. His last run in the Doncaster Cup was a very good run, and I think he only went up a pound for it,” de Bromhead said. “A mile and six is probably as short as he wants. He was second to Ethical Diamond in the Ebor last year, and fourth this year when he was unlucky in running.”
“We had a bad start this season and had to work out a few things, but he’s really come good on his last couple of runs,” he added. “He’s loving it out here, and Pandora, who travelled out with him, is delighted with him. So hopefully we’re good to go.”
“Good horses in any way, that’s what we’re all after. These are the races we want to be competing in.”
Henry de Bromhead
A world stage
De Bromhead said he gets just as much of a kick from his Flat horses. “Good horses in any way, no matter what, that’s what we’re all after,” he said. “Especially in races like these, where you can compete on a world stage. On the Flat, these are the kind of places you want to be, and then Cheltenham, Aintree, Punchestown and Leopardstown when you’re jumping.”
He had two horses qualified for this year’s Melbourne Cup, Endearment and Magical Zoe, but neither could make the trip. “For different reasons they couldn’t go, unfortunately,” he said.
Strong team for Cheltenham
De Bromhead will be flying back from Bahrain on Saturday, so he will miss Cheltenham’s November meeting, where he has a big team. “Robbie Power and Zoe are running that, so it’s probably in more capable hands than if I was there,” he joked. “We’ve plenty going with chances.” They include July Flower in Saturday’s Paddy Power Gold Cup. “We’d always planned for this race since she ran at Punchestown last season,” he said. “She’d probably like a bit more ease in the ground.”
The Big Westerner
The Big Westerner made a winning return at Wexford last week, and de Bromhead was delighted. “She was brilliant. I was slightly concerned about the ground, but in fairness to Wexford they did a great job, and we couldn’t have asked for more,” he said.
He is not planning her season around Cheltenham. “She is ground dependent. She needs an ease in the ground,” he said. “We couldn’t even run her at Cheltenham last year because it was just too good for her. So we’ll crack on, and around Christmas she’ll be aiming for the big graded chases.”
