Former jockey Brian Rouse, 83, is probably best remembered for his ‘annus mirabilis’ in 1983, when he won both the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and the Hardwick Stakes at Royal Ascot, in the space of four days, on the remarkable mare Stanerra, trained by the late Frank Dunne, and later in the season won the Japan Cup and the Joe McGrath Memorial Stakes – now the Irish Champion Stakes – on the same horse. Rouse also had the distinction of being the jockey who rode Desert Orchid in his one and only Flat race, the Group 3 Sagaro Stakes at Ascot in 1985, although the partnership finished unplaced behind Longboat, ridden by Willie Carson.
By his own admission, Rouse ‘fell into’ Stanerra and it was a similar story with Quick As Lightning, the Buckpasser filly who, on May 1, 1980, provided him with his one and only Classic winner, in the 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket. Trainer John Dunlop had reportedly approached four other jockeys, all of whom had previous commitments, before offering the ride to Rouse, who later confessed that he had been ‘about eighth reserve’.
The winner of the Hoover Fillies’ Mile at Ascot as a juvenile, Quick As Lightning made her three-year-old debut in the Fred Darling Stakes, over 7 furlongs, at Newbury, where she finished a fast-finishing third, beaten 3½ lengths, behind Millingdale Lillie and Mrs. Penny, who re-opposed in the 1,000 Guineas. Consequently, she was sent off at 12/1, in a field of 23, at Newmarket, but it was Our Home, trained by Michael Stoute and ridden by Greville Starkey, who proved to be her nearest pursuer on the Rowley Mile. In fact, commentator John Penney called Our Home and Mrs. Penny as ‘fighting out the finish’ but, on the outside, Rouse summoned a strong finishing effort from Quick As Lightning, who surged ahead close home to win by a neck.