InterviewArchie Watson
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Archie Watson: 'I can see I'm not the most approachable - but I'm essentially a good bloke when you get to know me'

In his first major interview, the prolific trainer tells Lee Mottershead why so much of what people think about him is wrong

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Archie Watson, pictured in his Saxon Gate yard one week on from saddling three winners at Royal Ascot
Archie Watson, pictured in his Saxon Gate yard one week on from saddling three winners at Royal AscotCredit: Edward Whitaker

High on the Lambourn gallops, Archie Watson looks into the distance as Bradsell moves effortlessly past an ancient oak tree and towards a young trainer whose career is now hallmarked by a Royal Ascot treble not much more improbable than the existence of this interview.

In itself, Bradsell's King's Stand Stakes triumph was perfectly plausible, not least because Watson had persuaded the colt's Bahraini owners to stump up a £35,000 supplementary entry fee for last year's Coventry Stakes hero.

What still seems remarkable is that a trainer without superpower status would end the meeting with three winners, two of them gained in huge-field handicaps and all three returned at double-figure odds.

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