Tashkhan

“It was a good learning experience for Tashkhan. Brian gave him a great ride and he jumped well while being a bit excited. He travelled nicely and it's good for him to win and get it out of the way. He just never had his ground last year. He needs it heavy, so we thought we'd try him jumping. He's had issues with his joints before but this year he's been grand, so it was the time to do it. He's done a fair bit of schooling and he's always done it well, he'll come on a lot for that. - Brian Ellison, trainer”

“Maybe if Tashkhan hadn't run in the Cesarewitch he could have been second. He's had all the travelling on top of Newmarket, where he had a hard race, but he's still run his heart out. We went to Chester because of ground, and we went to Newmarket because it went soft. We're governed by the ground and that's why he came here. But saying that, he's picked up over a hundred grand in three races so he hasn't done badly for a horse who cost very little money - Brian Ellison, trainer.”

“Tashkhan has run a massive race under top weight and that 4lb penalty he picked up for winning at Chester has just made the difference. We've kept him off fast ground and he's gone down fighting on a surface he loved - 'Brian Ellison, trainer.”

“Tashkhan is a star. The rain came and that's all he wanted, fast ground is no good to him. That just shows you how good he is. I know he hasn't won for two years but he's had some hard races. There are three races he could go for. He's in the Cesarewitch, the Long Distance Cup on Champions day and the Royal-Oak and he'll go wherever the ground is right - Brian Ellison, trainer.”

“Ben (Robinson) just said that having run four times on fast ground, Tashkan didn't know whether he was just thinking about that (early on). He said once he got his confidence he raced a bit better. But the winner's a machine isn't he? Just a different ballgame. This is just a cheap horse and he never lets me down. We might go to Ascot and if not we'll come back here for the Royal-Oak, I think that will be more likely - Brian Ellison, trainer.”

“Tashkhan is very exciting and there are lots of options now. The soft ground is key to him, he wants a bit of cut and it really makes a difference. He's entered in the John Smith's Cup but with his three-year-old weight-for-age allowance, he won't get in. There's the Melrose at York and he could run against the older horses. The two-mile races could be an option as he stayed well there-Patrick Boyle, owner”

“I would say getting gelded has made a big difference to Tashkan and he definitely has his mind more on the job. You could see that Ross was rowing away on him a long way out but he just kept galloping. Down the line I can see him making into a nice three-year-old hurdler - Emmet Mullins, trainer.”