William Haggas preparing Baaeed for a perfect goodbye

William Haggas and his team are keeping cool heads as Baaeed limbers up for the final run of a remarkable career at Ascot on Saturday.

The undefeated Sea The Stars colt will step foot on the racecourse for the last time at the weekend, with his swansong performance in the Qipco Champion Stakes.

Flawless in each and every one of his 10 starts so far, Baaeed is headed to stud at the close of the season and it is hoped he will take with him an unbeaten record of 11 runs and 11 victories.

Despite the building anticipation over the public's last chance to see the horse run, the team at Haggas’s Somerville Lodge stable are mindful they must remain composed so as not to offer him any hint of their own tensions.

"I think it’s really important that we keep a level head, especially at home," the trainer said.

"Everyone’s obviously a little on edge because it means a lot to all of us, we’re all lucky to have this horse while he’s been in training.

"I want to sound clever and say we've done a fantastic job to get this horse where he is, but actually he’s been so straightforward"

"Every single person that works for us and is involved with us has enjoyed the ride immensely, but we can’t go around getting tense and taut because he will then feel it. We’ve just got to be normal and treat him, as best we can, like any other horse in the yard.

"Normally a trainer in Newmarket has their best horse as second in the string every day, but he doesn’t always go second in the string. We just try to act normally around him so he knows no different."

The task of keeping the environment relaxed is made easier by Baaeed’s temperament – an attribute Haggas cites as key to his continued success throughout the past two seasons.

"I want to sound clever and say