Twelve months on from the confirmation of his potency in the G3 Thoroughbred S. at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, Shadwell's Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) returns to the famous Downs as a relative giant as he pursues ever higher ground in Wednesday's G1 Qatar Sussex S. at Goodwood. While his tally of four straight Group 1 wins–in the Prix du Moulin, the QEII, the Lockinge and Queen Anne–is highly commendable, it is still shy of the five achieved by the likes of Dubai Millennium (GB), Enable (GB), Giant's Causeway and St Mark's Basilica (Fr). By the end of the year, it is not inconceivable that he could be matching the seven of this race's 2002 hero Rock of Gibraltar (Ire), even if the nine of Frankel (GB) looks out of reach.
Comparisons with Frankel were being bandied about prior to the June 14 Queen Anne, but his performance there failed to satisfy that on a visual basis. Time-wise, it was the meeting's key moment, however, with startling final sectionals placing him in a league of his own. Running the final two furlongs faster than the King's Stand winner Nature Strip (Aus) (Nicconi {Aus}), he was quicker even than Battaash (Ire) had been over the same last quarter mile in the King's Stand in 2020. This is a fast animal and William Haggas's quip that he could win a July Cup was actually close to the mark.
Angus Gold is not being complacent, however. “As far as I know everything is good, he worked very nicely last week and I think they've been happy since, so you can but hope. There's some very good horses in the race and as we saw in the King George on Saturday, you can never take anything for granted,” he said. “It's possibly not his ideal track, but you could say that about a lot of them so I don't see that as a reason for him not to win if he's in good form and gets a good run through the race.”
Connections already have their sights trained on the G1 Juddmonte International at York Aug. 17. “He's done all his winning at a mile and he's shown he's got the speed and the class to win Group 1s at a mile,” Gold added. “For me, it's going to be more interesting to see whether he can be versatile and carry that speed over a mile and a quarter. I know William felt it was too big a gap between Ascot and York and as he rightly said, they're here to race these horses so that's why he's going to Goodwood.”
A Free Hit
Tuesday's G2 Lennox S. win of Sandrine (GB) (Bobby's Kitten) proved that the Andrew Balding stable is in hot form and Baaeed's biggest concern could come from Alcohol Free (Ire) (No Nay Never), who has nothing to lose tackling the favourite bidding for back-to-back renewals at a track that plays to her strengths. Very few horses can win this and a July Cup, but that is what she did at Newmarket July 9 where she put upwards of 1 1/2 lengths between her and the Platinum Jubilee crew led by Naval Crown (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}). “It took her a couple of runs to find her feet this year, but she's in great form and she looks very well,” Balding said. “She won the race last year and while this looks a very strong renewal, it wasn't a bad one when she beat Poetic Flare. At Goodwood it's not always enough to be the best horse, as you need luck too. We wouldn't want to win that way, but it's a horse race at the end of the day.”
Game Changer
While the loss of Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) from this picture is a blow to Godolphin, it is worth remembering that Charlie Appleby houses the three winners of the English, Irish and French 2000 Guineas and he still has one of them engaged in Modern Games (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}). While the form of his success in the May 15 G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp has yet to be seriously boosted, it is early days and this return to a mile on a fast course should see him in a positive light. “He can do it every which way and can adapt, plus the draw in one is a positive,” jockey William Buick said on Tuesday. “Everyone has to respect Baaeed and rightly so, as he's a fantastic horse and is obviously going to be very hard to beat.”
Appleby added, “The step back up in trip is going to suit him and the quick ground will also be in his favour. He loves it rattling fast. He's a very classy colt, he's a multiple Group 1 winner and a sharp track such as Goodwood will pose no problem when you recall how he handled Del Mar. He will give a good account of himself.”
Rocket Powered?
Goodwood's action on Wednesday also includes a pair of Group 3 contests, with the 2-year-olds lining up for the five-furlong Markel Molecomb S. and the fillies and mares set for the seven-furlong Whispering Angel Oak Tree S. Victorious Racing's June 15 Listed Windsor Castle S. runner-up and July 1 Listed Dragon S. winner Rocket Rodney (GB) (Dandy Man {Ire}) is back over the course and distance over which he opened his account in style Apr. 29 and ticks all the boxes, but the lurker could be Rockcliffe Stud's impressive July 15 Newbury maiden scorer Trillium (GB) (No Nay Never). “She's a very good filly who stepped up from her first run to her second when bolting up at Newbury in fine style,” Trillium's trainer Richard Hannon said on his Unibet blog. “That was over six furlongs, but she's got a fantastic turn of foot so I'm not worried about going down to five furlongs and she receives a bit of weight as well for being a filly.” Al Shaqab Racing have a habit of plundering the Oak Tree, with three wins between 2015 and 2017 with French raiders and are here again with the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained June 12 Listed Prix Volterra winner Samahram (Fr) (Sea The Moon {Ger}).
Nashwa Faces Eight In Nassau
Thursday's G1 Qatar Nassau S. has attracted nine, with Hollie Doyle keen to renew her partnership with Imad Al Sagar's G1 Prix de Diane heroine Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}). This is one of the weaker renewals on paper in recent times, with the May 29 G1 Prix d'Ispahan winner Dreamloper (Ire) (Lope De Vega {Ire}) and the May 12 G2 Middleton Fillies' S. scorer Lilac Road (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) key among the older brigade. “Nashwa is just unreal and she's getting better and better,” her rider told QIPCO British Champions Series. “Every time I sit on her between races she's improved again. I rode a piece of work on her last week which was very similar to the work we did before France and she's bigger and stronger once again, and better than ever.”
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