Bjorn Nielsen | Horse Racing Free Tips

Stradivarius and ‘Moon’ To Return At York

High-class stayer Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) and G1 Cazoo Derby hopeful Reach For The Moon (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) will both be in action at York in mid-May, co-trainer John Gosden revealed. The former holds an entry in the G2 Paddy Power Yorkshire Cup S. on May 13. After winning the G2 Doncaster Cup S. in September, the Bjorn Nielsen-owned chestnut ran second in the G1 Prix du Cadran at ParisLongchamp a month later, and finished his season with a third in the G2 British Champions Long Distance Cup. Her Majesty The Queen's Reach For The Moon is a winner of the G3 Solario S. at Sandown on Aug. 21, and he was a good second in the G2 Champagne S. at Doncaster on Sept. 11. His next engagement will be the G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante S. at York on May 12.

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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Stradivarius To Stay In Training

Champion stayer and seven-time Group 1 winner Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) will race on next year at eight with a three-race campaign in mind.

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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Stradivarius Supreme In The Doncaster Cup

With his stayers' division dominance seemingly on the wane this term, Bjorn Nielsen's talisman Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) assuaged any doubts that the old lustre had been lost by outclassing a reduced field in Thursday's G2 Doncaster Cup. Shorn of G1 Goodwood Cup hero Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) in the build up, the 18-furlong marathon was led by The Grand Visir (GB) (Frankel {GB}) as Frankie Dettori anchored Stradivarius five lengths off the tempo passing the judge first time. That margin had nearly doubled by halfway, but it was as far adrift as 7-year-old veteran became during the race. Bounding forward on the bridle in the straight, the 4-11 favourite was in full control inside the final quarter mile and extended clear in the closing stages to secure a second edition of the contest by 2 1/2 lengths from the outclassed Alerta Roja (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}). Old foe Nayef Road (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) finished a further four lengths back in third.

“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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No Doubting Stradivarius In The Lonsdale Cup

With the drying ground ruling out the G1 Goodwood Cup hero Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}), Friday's G2 Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup at York was teed up perfectly for Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) to register an inspiring third success in this marathon. Open to questioning following his fourth in the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot June 17, Bjorn Nielsen's staying star was settled in second early by Frankie Dettori as The Grand Visir (GB) (Frankel {GB}) set off in isolation. Joined by Spanish Mission (Noble Mission {GB}) approaching two out as they loomed on the front end, William Buick had the upper hand for much of the rest of the distance and looked likely to prevail until the final yards. It was then that the 4-6 favourite was lifted by the crowd to give extra and outstay his chief rival for an 18th career and 16th pattern-race win by a head as The Grand Visir finished seven lengths adrift in third. “I'm feeling emotional,” Frankie said. “It was always going to be a messy race and I was using Richard [Kingscote on The Grand Visir] as a reference point, but Strad likes a target and so I pushed him close to William [Buick] and it worked–he only does enough and William would not go away, so it was a tremendous horse race. The reception he got–he's loved by everyone.”

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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