American Affair: A Sprinter Nearly Six Decades in the Making

[Wandering Eyes]

The story of Saturday's Temple Stakes contender American Affair is very much a family affair for Lanarkshire trainer Jim Goldie, with his deep knowledge of the pedigree and the devotion of his granddaughter, Alex, both playing their part in the spectacular rise of a five-year-old who started last season with a BHA mark of just 70.

Five wins later, American Affair is now up to a rating of 105 after he coasted to victory in another big-field handicap at York last week, producing the sort of performance which suggests the son of Washington DC won't be out of place when he tries his luck in Pattern company for the first time at Haydock.

“I thought he would win, but he was probably even more impressive than I expected,” Goldie says of that stroll on the Knavesmire. “The handicapper has given him a fair whack, which I must say was fair enough. He looked a Group horse among handicappers, didn't he?”

That he most certainly did, with no prouder person in York after that display than Alex, who was all smiles when leading American Affair back in to unsaddle. Clearly, all has been forgiven after she suffered a broken collarbone in a fall from her pride and joy earlier this year, an accident for which her grandfather is happy to accept his share of responsibility.

“That was probably grandpa's fault,” he chuckles. “I was on the road next to the gallop in my tractor and he dived off the gallop at the sight of it. But when you're working with racehorses, that's just a badge of honour, a broken collarbone. Both dad and grandpa were on the scene very quickly and identified the problem. She was not amused, but que sera. I think she was more frustrated that other folk were getting to ride her horse! She's always been very sweet on him.”

Now fully recovered, Alex has reclaimed her place as American Affair's regular rider at home, no doubt enjoying the thrill of riding the horse described by Goldie as “one of the fastest we've trained”.

“At home he rarely comes off the bit,” says the man whose back catalogue of talented sprinters includes the likes of Orientor and his best son, Jack Dexter, not to mention Hawkeyethenoo.

“He won his maiden over seven furlongs, of all things. We probably got him wrong to start with. He's a five-furlong horse and we were running him at the wrong trip. He's always had so much speed and he improved a lot when we started running him over five. The Sunday Series was a godsend to him last year, because they put on a lot of nice races at five furlongs.

“Now we're running him over his right trip, he's easy to ride because they're inclined to take him along and he settles and finishes his races better. Flat, galloping tracks seem to suit him and, the faster they go, the better he is. He can quicken off a very fast pace. We'll keep him to five for as long as we can and the [G1] Prix de l'Abbaye is a race that might suit him later in the year.”

 

American Affair lands the day-two opener!

The progressive five-year-old beats 17 rivals to land the £60,000 Lindum York Handicap for @PMulrennan and @JimGoldieRacing @yorkracecourse pic.twitter.com/INAgFAEqMe

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 15, 2025

 

In the meantime, Goldie is excited to see what American Affair is capable of when he comes up against some of the best sprinters Britain and Ireland has to offer at Haydock, before taking on the world in the G1 King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot.

“At the moment he looks very special,” he sums up. “And Paul [Mulrennan, jockey] says he's still a big baby. He's still looking about him and is a bit green, so there might be more to come. How much more, we'll find out.

“It will be interesting on Saturday. I imagine Karl Burke's horse [Night Raider] will be the hare and we'll be the hound. I'm looking forward to it and, hopefully, we end up in top hat and tails and can go on to Ascot with him. I think, win, lose or draw on Saturday, we'll probably go down that route. There are no obvious handicaps to go for, so we may as well go in at the deep end.”

The whole Goldie family is clearly intent on enjoying the journey with American Affair, one which began for its patriarch back in September 1997 when he bought a Safawan yearling for 8,200gns. Subsequently named Class Wan, she won two races for the yard as a juvenile but, more pertinently, now appears in the pedigree of American Affair as his grandam.

For good measure, Goldie also trained American Affair's dam, the six-time winner Classy Anne, the dam sire, Orientor, and five of Classy Anne's siblings.

“Aye, I know the family well,” he says in typically understated fashion, before delivering a fascinating history lesson which takes us everywhere from Ayrshire to Japan.

“The history of racing is probably my favourite subject,” he begins. “At New Hall Stud, or Hall Stud as it was at the time, they had three mares. They had a mare called Jay Gee Ell, another called Cal Norma's Lady, and they had Ayr Classic [the dam of Class Wan]. I basically bought everything out of Ayr Classic, because I thought that was the best mare, and I bought one out of Jay Gee Ell.

“But in the history of racing, Cal Norma's Lady is significant, especially in Japan, because she is the granny of [seven-time Group 1 winner] Gentildonna. The dam was Donna Blini, the Bertolini mare who won the Cheveley Park and was sold to Japan where she bred Gentildonna.

“Then there was another mare out of Cal Norma's Lady called Little Book, who I trained and was rated in the 50s. Because of her sister she got into Deep Impact and managed to produce a Japanese Derby winner [Roger Barows]. Somebody text me afterwards and said, 'Did you know you trained the mother of the Japanese Derby winner?'. I had no clue!”

He continues, “Jay Gee Ell bred Friar Tuck, who won the big three-year-old sprint handicap at York. All three mares were very successful, but Cal Norma's Lady was obviously the jewel in the crown.

“I bought the Ayr Classics, and there were a lot of good ones, but they were all a bit mad. Then I bred from Class Wan. She loved soft ground and was very useful, but she was never that sound and was inclined to do backflips and stupid stuff like that. On her day she was quite talented.”

Formerly owned by Gordon Thom and his family, New Hall Stud in Ayrshire now belongs to Kenny Alexander and is home to his champion racemare Honeysuckle as the powerful owner-breeder aims to produce the next wave of National Hunt superstars.

As for Goldie, his father had much lower expectations when he first started breeding horses with a young Jim at foot, simply hoping to breed a few point-to-point winners.

“When we started then, I would never have guessed that we'd breed a sprinter like this,” Goldie says of American Affair, who he owns in partnership with Barraston Racing.

“John McGrandles [of Barraston Racing] has always been interested in his breeding, so I basically gave him the mare [Classy Anne] and I let him choose the stallion. Unfortunately, we lost the mare, but that's what happens, isn't it? When I bred Jack Dexter, the bloody mare never got back in foal and I spent a fortune trying.

“I've been doing this a long time and every day is a school day. I've been training for over 30 years and I've been breeding for over 50. Actually, probably nearer 60–and I'm only 70!”

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