The live auction will be held at 1:30 p.m. with charity auctioneer Martin Pope handling the duties. Bids can be made in advance by 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2 by email. For more information on the charity event and auction, please visit the Retraining of Racehorses website.

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Dettori came in for heavy criticism from Nielsen, who revealed to TDN Europe recently that the man who has partnered Stradivarius to three Gold Cup triumphs ignored instructions at Royal Ascot this year and last year by sitting too far off the pace. 

Nielsen said, “What people don't know is what the riding instructions were. With what happened last year, twice where Frankie sat so far back and down on the rail, he was told, 'Whatever you do, don't sit on the rail and get far back on the horse this year.'

“For some reason, he went and did what he did [at Ascot last month]. By the time we had a chance to get out again, it was an impossible task to make up the ground. If you look at how he was travelling when they turned in and how the winner was travelling, the winner was being ridden strongly and so were some others.”

He added, “The Strad was sitting there on the bridle turning in and through no fault of his own he didn't get a run. It was not a case of the others having younger legs than him. It was a case of he got no run and he was put in a position where he had no chance, unfortunately.”

The John and Thady Gosden-trained 8-year-old has already won the Goodwood Cup four times, including under Atzeni in 2017 and 2018, and Neilsen decided to change things up in the saddle.

“Frankie Dettori, who has enjoyed a great relationship with Stradivarius and ridden him to many brilliant stakes victories, more than he has any other horse, will by mutual agreement give up the ride to Andrea Atzeni in the Goodwood Cup,” Nielsen told Racing TV.

“Frankie remains not only 'the Strad's' biggest fan but a very good friend and of course I look forward to seeing him continue his phenomenal career as one of the greatest big-race jockeys of all time.

“Andrea will be no stranger to Stradivarius as they are undefeated together, winning the 2017 and 2018 Goodwood Cups as well as the 2017 Queen's Vase.”

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By his owner and breeder Bjorn Nielsen he is referred to as 'The Strad', talked of as one would a favourite son or best friend. The 8-year-old stallion has earned his place in Nielsen's heart, just as he has earned the wider affection of the racing public. He remains equine box office, with this season regarded by many as a prolonged farewell tour. 

The fact that the longed-for fourth victory in the Gold Cup did not go to plan is of course a source of frustration for those directly involved with Stradivarius, particularly as Nielsen believes that the Gosdens had him note-perfect for his return to Ascot.

“John never really gets carried away beforehand saying anything's going to win but just reading between the lines, I know John felt like he had the horse absolutely spot on for that race,” he says. 

“I think it's been a remarkable job actually, by John and his staff, of keeping this horse on the go all these years and getting him to every race. It's the one great thing about John, if you have a top horse, he'll be there on the day. You don't have to worry about him being overdone or underdone. He's surely done that with The Strad's career throughout.”

And what a career it has been: 34 races to date, seven Group 1s among his 20 wins, nine more top-three finishes, and then there's the not insignificant matter of two Stayers' Million bonuses. Unfortunate timing for the enterprising folk at Weatherbys Hamilton who launched the initiative which sounded fiendishly difficult to win, but for it starting in the year in which Stradivarius really came into his own as a 4-year-old and sailed through a magnificent 2018 season unbeaten.

“He's happy in himself and he's eating well,” reports Nielsen of his star in the aftermath of Royal Ascot. “It would seem fairly obvious that if he's sound and well he's going to go to Goodwood.”

In a sense, Goodwood was where it all began for Stradivarius in 2017. He arrived for his first attempt in Group 1 company on the back of victory in the G2 Queen's Vase, and in some respects he was the villain of the piece in the Goodwood Cup when beating another popular member of the staying ranks, Big Orange (GB) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}), who at that stage was looking for his third win in the race. Stradivarius effectively then took ownership of the Goodwood Cup, with four straight wins until he was withdrawn on the morning of last year's race following heavy rain.

“Even though it's an incredibly long career, it seems like almost yesterday when he won that first Goodwood Cup but it's five years ago,” Nielsen says. 

“He has so many qualities, but soundness is one of the most amazing qualities he has, in that he's never missed an engagement in his entire career, except when we pulled him out of Goodwood, because they had 60 millilitres of rain last year, the night before. Otherwise, he's never missed, never missed at all. It's hard to say that about any horse.”

He's never missed, which is one of the reasons Stradivarius will be so missed when he eventually retires. There are few top-class Flat horses who remain in training for seven seasons, fewer still entire males. Which brings us to what happens next. 

A sensible observer would agree that Stradivarius has all the attributes required to have a chance to make it as a stallion if, that is, that person prizes soundness, durability, toughness, and a killer turn of foot. And what breeder wouldn't look for those qualities for their future foals? The problem is that a section of breeders have become fixated on trying to satisfy a fickle market rather than breeding what they believe will make a racehorse. It is a situation that means we now often find the winners of the best races in the programme book – you know, those that you'd give your right arm to win: the Derby, the Gold Cup – overlooked when the time comes for a stallion career.

Nielsen, naturally, is convinced of his horse's potential for a second career as a stallion, and it is hard to argue with his reasoning.

“With racehorses, half the battle is training them and getting them to the racetrack,” he says. “[Stradivarius] has soundness and longevity and consistency in spades. If he passes that on, he's a long way to being a good stallion. Apart from his tremendous will to win, another hallmark of his is his turn of foot.

“In his case, in a hell of a lot of races going way back now, it's always been a game of, 'okay, we're going to have to keep him boxed in for as long as possible and not let him out, because once he gets out his acceleration is why he wins'. It's happened in the last three races, which is really where Frankie's got into trouble with him.”

On the theme of this year's Gold Cup, he continues, “What people don't know is what the riding instructions were. With what happened last year, twice where Frankie sat so far back and down on the rail, he was told, 'Whatever you do, don't sit on the rail and get far back on the horse this year.'

“For some reason, he went and did what he did. By the time we had a chance to get out again, it was an impossible task to make up the ground. If you look at how he was travelling when they turned in and how the winner was travelling, the winner was being ridden strongly and so were some others. The Strad was sitting there on the bridle turning in and through no fault of his own he didn't get a run. It was not a case of the others having younger legs than him. It was a case of he got no run and he was put in a position where he had no chance, unfortunately.

“But he and Frankie have had a great partnership, and Frankie has ridden more group wins on him than any other horse he has partnered. Of course I am truly grateful for the partnership they have had and I don't want recent events to overshadow that.”

Nielsen is taking a race-by-race view towards the remainder of Stradivarius's racing career. A shot at a fifth Goodwood Cup on July 26 seems likely to be his next public outing.

“There's just no other way to do it. We'll see how he goes,” he says. “Hopefully he stays sound and he turns up there. I'm sure he will, with John training him, he's going to be 100 per cent when he turns up a Goodwood.”

The decision at this stage that Nielsen can have greater control over is where, eventually, his horse will stand. Offers have already been forthcoming from studs in France and Germany.

“I feel if I ever sold him out of this country, I'd probably get hung,” he says. “He deserves his chance in England and the one thing he's not going to do is cover jumping mares. He's absolutely going to cover Flat mares only. I'm going to give him a chance to prove that he can do it with Flat mares. I really want to keep him in England. With the history and traditions of English breeding I'd like to give him the chance in England, where there's the best racing in the world, and where he's been a bit of an icon really for the last five years.”

Nielsen continues, “There are two particular studs in England who have shown a lot of interest. I'm going to wind up almost certainly owning the horse entirely myself, without anybody taking any equity in him. I'll offer incentives and I've got six, seven, eight mares that I have in mind at this stage that I'd breed to him, that I think would suit him well.”

Though stud plans, or even retirement plans, are still a way down the road, the advertising campaign has already begun, highlighting how Stradivarius's speed compares favourably to other horses in shorter races run on the same course on the same day. For example, when winning the Goodwood Cup in 2020, the stayer's last four furlongs of the two-mile contest were run in 46.50s compared to 46.80s for Space Blues (Ire) over the final four of his seven-furlong spin in the G2 Lennox S. Similarly, in good to soft ground on Champions Day in 2018, Stradivarius recorded 36.82s over the final three furlongs of two miles, while Cracksman (GB) over the same stretch during ten furlongs of the Champion S. stopped the clock at 36.58s (finishing six lengths ahead of Crystal Ocean).

“I know commercially how things have gone, and people have got into thinking that they have to breed a six-furlong mare to a six-furlong stallion to wind up with a racehorse, but it's absolutely wrong,” says Nielsen.

“Obviously it's a combination of the stallion and the mare but some of the greatest horses that have ever been bred have been by so-called stayers. The Tetrarch was the best 2-year-old who ever lived. He was seven from seven as a 2-year-old, over five and six furlongs, and was a great influence on the breed. He was by a Doncaster Cup horse out of a mare that won over 11 furlongs. Ribot was the same. He was the champion 2-year-old in Italy, won the Arc twice, the King George, and was undefeated in 16 races. He was by Tenerani who won the Goodwood Cup when it was over two miles and five furlongs.”

Nielsen also points to the influential Deep Impact (Jpn), whose 12 wins came between ten furlongs and two miles, while ruing the demise of stamina influences in Australia and America.

“We've still got our stamina in Europe. I think it's really important that we hold on to whatever stamina we have, because the rest of the world, unless they just wind up running over six furlongs, they're going to need to breed to our stallions, our mares,” he says.  

“The authorities start to cater for a slightly faster horse and start to bring down the racing distance. If you're breeding for a mile-and-a-half race, people are trying to breed the mile-and-a-quarter horse who just about stays. Then you bring it down to a mile and a quarter, everybody starts to try and breed milers to just about last out the mile and a quarter to have that necessary speed. Once the racing authorities start to bring down racing distances, we're on a slippery path.”

Stradivarius's dam, the Wildenstein-bred Private Life (Fr) (Bering {GB}) was herself a winner at a mile and ten furlongs. His third dam Pawneese (Ire) (Carvin {Fr}) won the Oaks, Prix de Diane and King George. The record of his sire Sea The Stars is familiar to most, but it is worth repeating that he was the pre-eminent colt of his generation, from a mile to a mile and a half. His trainer John Oxx recently told TDN that he has no doubt that Sea The Stars could have won the St Leger. He is also the sire of the top-rated horse currently in training, the outstanding miler Baaeed (GB). It is easy to see whence Stradivarius derives his talent, with forebears of the highest calibre over a range of middle distances. 

“I'm going to send him mile or mile-and-a-quarter mares, and I see no reason why he's not going to come up with the goods,” says his breeder. “If you do that, with the soundness, his will to win and his temperament, he only has to pass on some of those traits and he'll be a good stallion.”

Nielsen also has confidence that he will be backed by his fellow breeders.

“I think he will get a decent book, but of course he's going to have to prove it himself,” he says. “The reason I put some of those ads out is to underline his speed. You can ask him to quicken in his races and then join the leaders and then you can actually stop with them again, which is very rare. Then he'll just sit again and relax, and then you can ask him again when it's time to go. Yes, I'm trying to influence people who think you've got to have speed into seeing that he really does have speed, because he does. He's very fast over two or three furlongs and horses like Earthlight and Space Blues, who were terrifically fast horses, he's run faster closing times than them comfortably.”

Nielsen has consistently set out his stall when it comes to what he wants as a breeder, and that is to breed a Derby winner. Stradivarius was not that, but in a way he became so much more, especially to the many people who have become his fans over the last five or six seasons.

“It is great to hear from people when they come up to me and say, 'Thanks for keeping him in training.' Either people who run race tracks, or even members of the public will say it sometimes when you walk between the pre-parade and the paddock. It catches you by surprise, when you hear it,” says Nielsen.

“Obviously, it's great that the public love the horse and that he's had the career that he's had, and I'd like to keep him in training for another 10 years if I could. I must admit, this season now, I start feeling the heat a little bit, because I feel like he actually hasn't lost his ability. It's been more down to what's happened in his races. He didn't lose a race last year that I felt was really because he wasn't good enough.

“I do feel the pressure a little bit now, especially because if he'd run the other day and he'd been beaten ten lengths, then it would've been easy to say, 'He's older now and he's done enough and he's clearly not the force he was', and I think everybody would understand it very easily. That's the way it is, but if he runs again at Goodwood like he ran the other day, I think the people might be saying, 'Why would you stop with him?'”

Certainly, the knowledge that the number of opportunities left to see Stradivarius at the racecourse are now few will add numbers to the gate at Goodwood, whoever else turns up to oppose him on the day. And for Nielsen, his appeal is as much about his character as his innate ability. 

“Everybody loves watching him walk around the paddock. He's got that great walk, like John Wayne, and they always tell me he screams and shouts down at the stables before he comes up to the parade ring. But when he gets up there, he just puts his head down. He's all business. He knows he can't be messing around now. It's time to concentrate.

“He goes down the start and he looks around him. He doesn't seem to be bothered at all that he's got a race coming up. He just stands there and looks across the Downs at Goodwood as if to say 'I've been here before, I remember'. He's got that air about him.”

Nielsen's Derby dream may remain unrealised but he knows that in Stradivarius he has been given the rarest of gifts. 

“Even if I managed to somehow get lucky enough to breed the Derby winner, which was the goal even with him really, it's impossible that I could have as much fun as he's given me, because it's just been so enduring,” he admits. “Normally, if you had a Derby winner, he might run twice as a 2-year-old and five times as a 3-year-old and then you'd be looking at retirement, unless you kept him in training at four. With him, it's 34 races already. He's just going to be impossible to match.”

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“My mouth is a bit dry–I'm emotional,” Frankie said as he prepared to parade the 8-year-old in front of the doting audience on his Yorkshire farewell. “Great. He actually surprised me, as he took me into the race very quickly. He pulls himself up in front, but I had no choice. The Gosdens are master trainers and changed his work and routine to keep him interested, worked him from the front and the back, taken him to different places, just to get him motivated as he's been going on those gallops for six years. I thought we had him fit, but until you try you don't know because he looks after himself. He looked the same as he usually does, travelled with zest and showed a good turn of foot and then he pulls up in front, but we know he does that. I will miss him dearly when he's retired–I'm trying to hold back the tears.”

John Gosden added, “He's totally unique. He was on his hind legs when we were saddling him, every time he saw a filly he started showing off but he came over here and he was a professional as ever. If the ground is not heavy, the plan is to go back to Ascot. It's like Desert Orchid, these horses do capture the imagination because they have longevity. To be the leading group-winning horse of all time in Europe, that takes some doing. Let's hope we can get to Ascot and the ground's not too deep, I think if he had this ground he'd take a lot of beating.”

Listing all of Stradivarius's achievements is unnecessary, but the staggering total of pattern races includes 17 at either this or group 1 level with the only group 3 coming in last year's Sagaro S. when connections changed tack. Whether that decision contributed to his subsequent reversal looking for a fourth Ascot Gold Cup will never be known, but his stable were keen to go back to basics for his preparatory run this time. With better luck in running last June, he possibly would have been second behind the now-absent Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) and it could be that given his preferred lively surface that is enough in 2022.

His owner-breeder remembers the staying greats all the way back to the likes of Sagaro, Ardross and Le Moss, but was not being drawn on comparisons with his star of the present. “You can never really compare different eras–he might have won a lot more races than them, but they were great and I loved watching those horses when I was young,” he said. “I think what we've done well with him is to keep him running in England and France rather than taking him to the Middle East or Australia. The wheels can come off when you do that and that is why he has endured so long.”

“Everyone wants to stand fast horses now and people get afraid of getting beaten so that they lose value, so the pressure is on to retire but I've obviously never been under as much pressure to retire him. He's probably worth as much in prizemoney than at stud. We're focusing on nothing more than the Gold Cup, especially as he's an eight-year-old,” Nielsen added. “The day will come when he's off the bridle and doesn't do it, so it's one race at a time.”

Stradivarius descends from the richly-talented Wildenstein distaffer Pawneese (Ire), deservedly crowned Horse of the Year in England in 1976 when she was also the champion 3-year-old filly in her native France. Her wins in the G1 Epsom Oaks, G1 Prix de Diane and G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. remain the stuff of legend, while her family also includes a chestnut like this winner who also wowed onlookers. Nureyev's Peintre Celebre was the brilliant winner of the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1997, having already annexed the G1 Prix du Jockey Club and G1 Grand Prix de Paris. Stradivarius was the last foal out of Private Life (Fr) (Bering {GB}), who acted as a vessel for no small measure of this dynasty's magic.

Friday, York, Britain
PADDY POWER YORKSHIRE CUP-G2, £175,000, York, 5-13, 4yo/up, 13f 188yT, 2:58.33, gd.
1–STRADIVARIUS (IRE), 132, h, 8, by Sea The Stars (Ire)
     1st Dam: Private Life (Fr) (MSP-Fr), by Bering (GB)
     2nd Dam: Poughkeepsie (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
     3rd Dam: Pawneese (Ire), by Carvin II
(330,000gns RNA Ylg '15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Frankie Dettori. £99,243. Lifetime Record: 3x Hwt. Older Horse-Eur at 14f+, 3x Hwt. Older Horse-Eng at 14f+, MG1SW-Eng & G1SP-Fr, 33-20-4-4, $4,267,854. *1/2 to Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), Hwt. 3yo-Ger at 9 1/2-11f, MGSW-Ger, $121,198; 1/2 to Rembrandt Van Rijn (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), GSP-UAE, $167,081. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Thunderous (Ire), 129, g, 5, Night of Thunder (Ire)–Souviens Toi (GB), by Dalakhani (Ire).
(70,000gns Ylg '18 TAOCT). O-Highclere Thoroughbred Racing – George Stubbs; B-Rabbah Bloodstock Limited (IRE); T-Charlie & Mark Johnston. £37,625.
3–Tashkhan (Ire), 129, g, 4, Born To Sea (Ire)–Tarziyna (Ire), by Raven's Pass.
(€11,000 2yo '20 GOFAUT). O-Mr P Boyle; B-His Highness the Aga Khan's Studs S.C. (IRE); T-Brian Ellison. £18,830.
Margins: 1, 2, NO. Odds: 1.50, 8.50, 8.50.
Also Ran: Search For a Song (Ire), Max Vega (Ire). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

Stradivarius – he's back & remains unbeaten on the Knavesmire @yorkracecourse @FrankieDettori

33 runs
20 wins
Goodwood Cups
Gold Cups
Yorkshire Cups
Lonsdale Cups
Doncaster Cups
Long Distance Cup
Queen's Vase pic.twitter.com/JXxt8e2YQD

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) May 13, 2022

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John Gosden said, “They are all fine. Stradivarius will go to York. Both of them will be pointing towards York. Stradivarius for the Yorkshire Cup and Reach For The Moon to the Dante. They are going all right at this stage. It is early days.”

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Bjorn Nielsen's popular chestnut homebred won the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Those first two wins were part of a 10-race win streak that also encompassed two of his four victories in the G1 Goodwood Cup. Stradivarius has also won the 2018 G2 Long Distance Cup in British Champions Day, three editions of the G2 Lonsdale Cup and two runnings of the G2 Yorkshire Cup. He finished second in the Oct. 2 G1 Prix du Cadran for John and Thady Gosden, and was last seen finishing third in the latest edition of the Long Distance Cup at Ascot on Oct. 16.

“He still loves his training and racing, and it's exciting for everyone to have him for another year,” said Thady Gosden.

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“He's a phenomenon,” stated John Gosden. “He's a wonderful horse and has been great at home. He's enjoyed all his training, he loves his racing and likes coming racing. I had no qualms about coming here and I couldn't have been more thrilled with him. He senses a horse coming to him and plays cat and mouse with them now. I'm sorry the other horse [Trueshan] didn't, run but maybe we'll meet one day. He's had a great season and won three out of four, but Frankie's ride in the [G1] Gold Cup [at Royal Ascot] wasn't his greatest. That said, the winner was mighty impressive. The sad thing for me in the year is that we couldn't run at Goodwood, because he adores Goodwood. His enthusiasm is there 100 per cent and I can assure everyone who loves him, the moment it's not there he will be retired. Until that day comes, which he will tell us, he will race. He lives a bit on the edge and lets us know what he wants. I've always adored stayers and to train him is a dream come true.”

Looking ahead to targets later in the season, Gosden added, “There are two races in the autumn, the [G1 Prix du Cadran] and [G2 British Champions Long Distance Cup at] Ascot, but Ascot last year was heavy and he hated it. Those are the options and it will be one not both. He'll go on summer soft, but not when it goes autumn deep as he cannot take it. It was a mistake to run him in it last year and in the Arc.”

Regular partner Frankie Dettori, whose first of five winners in the 255-year-old contest was provided by the enigmatic Arcadian Heights (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}) in 1994, commented, “That was great and it's probably the easiest race he's had since last year when he was here. He still loves his racing and made it look easy again.”

Stradivarius, the latest of seven foals and leading performer for the dual stakes-placed Private Life (Fr) (Bering {GB}), is kin to the black-type trio of G3 Furstenberg-Rennen and G3 Bavarian Classic victor Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), G3 Abu Dhabi Championship third Rembrandt Van Rijn (Ire) (Peintre Celebre) and South Africa's Listed Scarlet Lady S. placegetter Magical Eve (Ger) (Oratorio {Ire}). His second dam Poughkeepsie (Ire) (Sadler's Wells), who is also the ancestress of G1 Melbourne Cup and G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin-winning sire Protectionist (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), is a daughter of G1 Epsom Oaks, G1 Prix de Diane and G1 King George VI & Queen Elizabeth S. heroine Pawneese (Ire) (Carvin {Fr}). Pawneese, in turn, is a half-sister to Petroleuse (Ire) (Habitat), herself the granddam of MG1SW sire Peintre Celebre (Nureyev).

Friday, Doncaster, Britain
DONCASTER CUP S.-G2, £110,000, Doncaster, 9-10, 3yo/up, 17f 197yT, 3:53.02, g/f.
1–STRADIVARIUS (IRE), 134, h, 7, by Sea the Stars (Ire)
1st Dam: Private Life (Fr) (MSP-Fr), by Bering (GB)
2nd Dam: Poughkeepsie (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Pawneese (Ire), by Carvin II
(330,000gns RNA Ylg '15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £62,381. Lifetime Record: 3x Hwt. Older Horse-Eur at 14f+, MG1SW-Eng & GSP-Fr, 30-19-3-3, $3,993,323. *1/2 to Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger})), Hwt. 3yo-Ger at 9.5-11f & MGSW-Ger, $121,198; Rembrandt Van Rijn (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), GSP-UAE, $167,081; and Magical Eve (Ger) (Oratorio {Ire}), SP-SAf. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Alerta Roja (GB), 116, f, 3, Golden Horn (GB)–Albaraka (GB), by Selkirk. O/B-Kirsten Rausing (GB); T-Sir Mark Prescott. £23,650.
3–Nayef Road (Ire), 131, h, 5, Galileo (Ire)–Rose Bonheur (GB), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). (100,000gns Ylg '17 TATOCT). O-Mohamed Obaida; B-B V Sangster (IRE); T-Mark Johnston. £11,836.
Margins: 2HF, 4, 3 1/4. Odds: 0.36, 16.00, 10.00.
Also Ran: Rodrigo Diaz (GB), Eagles By Day (Ire), The Grand Visir (GB). Scratched: Trueshan (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by TVG.

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One of the most consistent staying stars of all time, Stradivarius has drawn on his incredible constitution to maintain a level of ability that is still unattainable to much-younger rivals. Spanish Mission had shown when winning the G2 Yorkshire Cup and last year's G2 Doncaster Cup that he is a stayer of considerable merit and he held every chance of subduing the Gosden A-lister with everything to suit but ultimately came up short. With Subjectivist (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}) out of action for now, Stradivarius has the opportunity to garner more of these before time is called.

Dettori thinks there is more to come from the 7-year-old. “Every time he's run here I've felt he is below-par–he fell in the last two times he won this for the bonus–and I feel he's much better at Ascot,” he said of the hero of two Yorkshire Cups and the 2018 and 2019 renewals of this race. “He's getting older, he's getting wiser. He got the job done and knows exactly what he's got to do.”

John Gosden added, “He's phenomenal. All those miles of racing. I always think flat horses are at their peak at five, but some of the great jumpers race on so we'll see how he is. He's a very happy horse and he's got a very good sense of humour as well. As long as he's happy, we can keep racing. He was a really angry chap when he came home from Goodwood and hadn't run. He used to sting like a butterfly and float like a bee, but he's a little more rope a dope now! He's still up for it and it was a proper race for everyone to watch between two fabulous horses. The [Sept. 10 G2] Doncaster Cup is a possibility and there is Champions Day, I hope it's decent ground but if it's bottomless we might have to reroute.”

Anna Lisa Balding said of the runner-up, who is bound for the G1 Melbourne Cup, “He's run a hell of a race and I actually thought we'd won when he went ahead. I thought we'd got him, but we didn't. We'll stick to Plan A, Australia here we come and let's hope he does his stuff out there.”
Stradivarius is the last foal out of Private Life (Fr) (Bering {GB}), who was bought by Nielsen for 70,000gns at the 2006 Tattersalls December Mares Sale. She also produced the G3 Bavarian Classic and G3 Furstenberg-Rennen scorer Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), the group-placed Rembrandt Van Rijn (Ire) (Peintre Celebre) and the stakes-placed Magical Eve (Ger) (Oratorio {Ire}). Like Peintre Celebre a descendant of the great Pawneese (Ire), who captured the G1 King George VI and Queen Elizabeth S. and the G1 Prix de Diane, she is also connected to the G1 Melbourne Cup hero Protectionist (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}).

Friday, York, Britain
WEATHERBYS HAMILTON LONSDALE CUP S.-G2, £150,000, York, 8-20, 3yo/up, 16f 56yT, 3:30.87, g/f.
1–STRADIVARIUS (IRE), 129, h, 7, by Sea the Stars (Ire)
1st Dam: Private Life (Fr) (MSP-Fr), by Bering (GB)
2nd Dam: Poughkeepsie (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Pawneese (Ire), by Carvin II
(330,000gns RNA Ylg '15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £85,065. Lifetime Record: 3x Hwt. Older Horse-Eur at 14f+, MG1SW-Eng & GSP-Fr, 29-18-3-3, $3,906,991. *1/2 to Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger})), Hwt. 3yo-Ger at 9.5-11f & MGSW-Ger, $121,198; Rembrandt Van Rijn (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), GSP-UAE, $167,081; and Magical Eve (Ger) (Oratorio {Ire}), SP-SAf. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Spanish Mission, 129, h, 5, Noble Mission (GB)–Limonar (Ire), by Street Cry (Ire). ($125,000 Ylg '17 KEESEP; 60,000gns RNA 2yo '18 TATBRE). O-Team Valor LLC & Gary Barber; B-St Elias Stables, LLC (KY); T-Andrew Balding. £32,250.
3–The Grand Visir (GB), 129, g, 7, Frankel (GB)–Piping (Ire), by Montjeu (Ire). (€750,000 Ylg '15 ARAUG; 170,000gns 4yo '18 TATAHI; £40,000 6yo '20 GOFJAN). O-Andy Bell & Fergus Lyons; B-Qatar Bloodstock, Ecurie Monceaux & Skymarc (GB); T-Ian Williams. £16,140.
Margins: HD, 7, 13. Odds: 0.67, 1.88, 28.00.
Also Ran: Stratum (GB). Scratched: Trueshan (Fr). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

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Stradivarius has been beaten on four of his last five starts – admittedly with mitigating factors in terms of distance, ground and most recently at Royal Ascot traffic issues following poor positioning – and he might well not have been favorite but for the injury incurred since by the runaway Gold Cup winner Subjectivist.

Nielsen therefore takes less for granted these days where Stradivarius is concerned, and he admits that it's now one race at a time in terms of his racing career. That said, he is confident that while the much anticipated fourth straight Gold Cup win failed to materialize, this ought to be different – granted clear sailing.

He said: “Most of the time when you go racing as an owner you hope they run well, and you hope maybe they'll win, but Stradivarius is that rarest of horse and it's been the case since he won his first Gold Cup that you go there hoping he isn't going to lose, so the feeling watching a race is the opposite to what it normally is.

“The way it is with him now is that he's always the one they have to beat and they ride to beat him, so a lot of horses will be trying to make sure he doesn't have a good run round. They are going to try to make it difficult for him and that's what happened at Ascot. But if he's out and about he's going to win.”

Nielsen, who saw Stradivarius' beating of recent Gold Cup and dual Goodwood Cup winner Big Orange for his first success in the race as “a changing of the guard”, added: “Stradivarius had worked very well before the Gold Cup and we were pretty confident he was going to run a huge race, but things just didn't work out – no disrespect to Subjectivist, who was well trained, well ridden, and quickened up exactly as we were getting stopped.

“I was really looking forward to the rematch but we'll never know now what might have happened. But Subjectivist wouldn't have been that far ahead of us again turning in if he were here, I'm sure of that.

“There are still some very good horses there though, and any rain is going to suit Trueshan. We can't underestimate Sir Ron Priestley either, who Mark Johnston has supplemented and is no slouch. You are always going to need some luck in running at Goodwood too – things have to go your way.”

Nielsen maintains that 'summer' soft ground is not a problem for Stradivarius, so the very heavy shower which hit Goodwood on Sunday morning and was estimated by clerk of the course Ed Arkell to have possibly brought as much as 10mm of rain hopefully won't harm his chances too much.

However, it was certainly music to the ears of Alan King, whose Trueshan was a deeply impressive seven-and-a-half length winner in 'autumn' soft ground in the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October, when Stradivarius coped much less well.

On hearing news of the of the rain a delighted King said: “That's very good news. I wasn't expecting that much in the morning. I thought the rain that they'd already had would make it safe enough to run, but to see Trueshan at his best it's a case of the more rain the better.”

King added: “Trueshan looked very good at Ascot on British Champions Day and we've been very pleased with him this year. I was very pleased I ran him at Newcastle in the Northumberland Plate, because you can't keep these horses simmering away forever and he had a proper race there. Everything has gone very smoothly in the build up since and we'll see what happens.”

Mark Johnston, a five-time winner of the Goodwood Cup, with Double Trigger (three times), Royal Rebel and Darasim, has paid £25,000 to supplement older half-brother Sir Ron Priestley to fly the flag in place of Subjectivist, and he also saddles last year's length second Nayef Road. However, he is all too aware that neither represents quite the threat to Stradivarius that Subjectivist would have done.

Johnston described the injury suffered earlier this month by Subjectivist, who was ante-post favourite at the time, as “a huge blow”. The 2022 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot is the earliest possible race we might see him in next, he said, and his career will be over if he is sold in the meantime to one of the studs which are currently showing interest.

Subjectivist could hardly have been held in higher regard, for Johnston said: “I'd have put him alongside Attraction and Shamardal as one of the three best I've trained. He was one of those rare horses with which you weren't really concerned about the opposition as he was better than anything out there, and I can't obviously say the same about Nayef Road or even Sir Ron Priestley.”

He added: “We agonised over paying £25,000 to supplement Sir Ron Priestley and I had to convince myself I was doing it for the owner, not myself, as there's some uncertainty about the trip. In the Yorkshire Cup it looked very much as if he didn't stay, but it's hard to equate that with his St Leger second or his Nottingham win, and at the beginning of the year we had no doubt he would stay two miles.

“The other worry is rain, but Charlie (son and assistant), rightly or wrongly, said that on good to firm ground he would put his house on the horse finishing in the first four, which is what we need to get the supplementary fee back.

“Nayef Road's recent runs have been mixed, but in some of them he's shown a glimmer of his best and he deserves to be there on past performance. I don't think any of us would be surprised if he was in the shake up, but he'd need a personal best and Stradivarius to be below form if he were to win.”

Aidan O'Brien, who won two Goodwood Cups with Yeats, saddles last year's Irish Derby winner Santiago, third inlast year's Goodwood Cup, shock Epsom Derby winner Serpentine, who hasn't finished closer than fourth in four races since Epsom, and recent Curragh Cup winner Amhran Na Bhfiann. However, all three were beaten a long way in the Gold Cup.

O'Brien said: “We think coming back to two miles will help Santiago. It was a very good run at Goodwood last year but we are not really sure he gets it (two miles) and he could have to go back to a mile and six or even a mile and a half. He's been very well since Ascot, and I'm very happy with his work.

“Amrhan Na Bhfiann ran in the Gold Cup but has won over a mile and six since. He's a horse we think likes to be ridden forward, although he doesn't have to make the running and we'd be happier if he didn't. He likes a strong tempo and we think coming back to two miles will suit. We maybe made too much use of him over the two and a half miles of the Gold Cup.”

Spanish Mission had Santiago, Sir Ron Priestley and Nayef Road behind when winning the Yorkshire Cup and went on to finish a very respectable third to Subjectivist in the Gold Cup, but trainer Andrew Balding is realistic about his prospects of beating an on-song Stradivarius.

He said: “This has been the plan for a long time and we are really pleased with him – we just wouldn't want too much rain. Stradivarius is a fairly awesome opponent, and if he's anywhere near his best he's going to be very tough to beat, but on his Yorkshire Cup win and his Gold Cup third Spanish Mission ought to be very competitive.”

A field of 11 is completed by the Donnacha O'Brien-trained Listed winner Emperor Of The Sun, who was fifth in the Gold Cup, Ismail Mohammed's Away He Goes, who finished third to Subjectivist at Meydan in March, and the Jamie Osborne-trained Mekong, who was ninth in that Meydan Group 2 and has not raced since.

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The hugely popular three-time winner has the chance to emulate Yeats, who recorded four consecutive Gold Cup victories between 2006 and 2009.

Now a 7-year-old, Stradivarius returned this season with an impressive victory in the G3 Longines Sagaro Stakes at Ascot in April.

Bjorn Nielsen's homebred, who is trained by John & Thady Gosden, is aiming for a fifth consecutive victory at Royal Ascot, with his first success at the meeting coming in the 2017 G2 Queen's Vase.

Speaking today at a media call presented by QIPCO British Champions Series on behalf of Ascot Racecourse, John Gosden said: “It would be extraordinary from the point of view that Stradivarius is still a full horse. He is not a gelding, and the geldings often race on a lot longer because they are not dealing with the distractions of life!

“This boy is very vociferous and an absolute riot to be around. He has always been very entertaining and has a great personality. I just tend to let him enjoy himself and, as long as he is enjoying himself, that's all that matters.

“He likes to be first out in the mornings and when he sees other strings, he shouts and roars. He seems to particularly like the blue of Godolphin, which causes him to shout even more. Then he comes back, eats his grub, and goes to sleep. He can see all the horses going in and out, so he checks everything. I think if you had to take a world tour with him, there is quite a likelihood in the end that you would say 'look, can you just shut up for a second!'. But that's his nature, he is just an incredibly fun horse to be around.

“He is like part of the family now and when his owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen comes to stay, he can look out of the guest room window and see Stradivarius saying hello to him. Full marks to Bjorn because he has bred this horse and raced him in the most sporting manner. I have nothing but respect for him to do that. He tried to breed a Derby horse and wound up with a wonderful cup horse.

“Stradivarius has won four Goodwood Cups, as well as Yorkshire Cups, Doncaster Cups, Lonsdale Cups. They put up the £1 million bonus two years running, thinking nobody would do it, and he knocked it off both years and finished the insurance company off. He has been remarkable. I think the toughest race of his life was actually his first Gold Cup against the great French stayer Vazirabad.

“He seems to love his training still and likes his racing. He can be very naughtily behaved beforehand and think he's in the covering shed, but when it comes to the race, he gets down to the start and says 'right, there's a job to do, lets go'.

“He worked on the July Course last Tuesday and, touch wood, we are ready to go again. Frankie [Dettori] gave him a little canter this morning in front of the TV cameras and that all went smoothly.

“I have a lot of respect for the new boy on the block Subjectivist. And I have a lot of respect for Alan King's horse Trueshan if he runs, although he may prefer a downpour. But there is no doubt Subjectivist adds a lot of spice to the race.”

The 2020 Derby hero Serpentine is a fascinating contender for Aidan O'Brien having been supplemented at a cost of £30,000.

Serpentine is set to become the first Derby winner to run in the Gold Cup since Blakeney in 1970. Ocean Swell in 1945 is the last Derby winner to win the Gold Cup.

O'Brien's hand is strengthened further by 2020 G1 Irish Derby victor Santiago and Amhrann Na Bhfiann, who finished third behind Serpentine in the Derby.

Mark Johnston is doubly represented by last year's Gold Cup second Nayef Road and Subjectivist, who routed the opposition in the G2 Dubai Gold Cup in March.

A strong line up also features Trueshan (Alan King), a dominant winner of the G2 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October, G1 Melbourne Cup victor Twilight Payment (Joseph O'Brien) and last month's G2 Yorkshire Cup scorer Spanish Mission (Andrew Balding).

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