Glorious Goodwood | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘Part Of The Family’: Stradivarius Will Chase Fifth Straight Goodwood Cup On Tuesday

Five-time Champion Trainer John Gosden described Stradivarius to be “very much part of the family” as he prepares to try and win an historic fifth Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup on Tuesday, July 27.

Reflecting on his fourth-place finish in last month's Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, Gosden paid tribute to the winner whilst also being left frustrated with how the race panned out.

“He's been in good order since Royal Ascot. The Gold Cup was a fascinating race and Subjectivist put in a superb performance. I'd love to have got in a race with the winner, but we never had the opportunity to get there and that's life. I think Frankie, having ridden him so brilliantly in previous Gold Cups, seemed to have a brainstorm and sit 12 lengths of the pace! I'm sorry that Subjectivist is not able to run next week, it's heart-breaking for everyone involved and it would have been great to have enjoyed a 'Duel on the Downs'.”

Looking ahead to next week's £500,000 British Champion Series race at Goodwood, Gosden is happy with Stradivarius's preparation ahead of what is a unique test over two miles.

He said: “He didn't have much of a race at Ascot so that race didn't seem to knock him back too far physically. He's won four Goodwood Cups in a row which takes some doing. It's going to be a fascinating race with some very nice horses turning up and you're always going to need some luck in running around Goodwood given it's not exactly a big, open galloping track. It's quintessentially different, rolling in and out, left, right and has cambers. It should make for an exciting day on Tuesday.”

Having arrived at Clarehaven Stables in 2016, Stradivarius has been a key part of the Gosden team for six years and his trainer paid tribute to his longevity and toughness.

Gosden said: “He's been a pleasure and a lot of fun to train through the years but as a 7-year-old full horse, he probably knows a great deal more about the game than I do! He's very much part of family here – we had Enable with us until she was a 6-year-old and him until he is seven. It doesn't normally happen with full horses like him. Everyone enjoys his company, and he checks everything in and out from his box and he knows Clarehaven inside and out. He enjoys going out on the Heath and shouting at the other strings!”

“It'd be wonderful if he puts in a big performance and runs well or wins but even to have him there for a fifth time is an achievement for everyone here in itself.”

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O’Brien Gives Update on Goodwood Team

Aidan O'Brien will send a strong Ballydoyle challenge to the Qatar Goodwood Festival next week, and has a trio of colts ready to step forward in the G1 Qatar Sussex S.-Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), Order Of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) and Battleground (War Front). Runner-up in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot, the MG1SP Lope Y Fernandez won the Listed Heritage S. at Leopardstown in April. GI Breeders' Cup Mile hero Order Of Australia was last seen in action taking the G2 Minstrel S. at The Curragh on July 18 and Battleground, a Group 2 winner, exits the G1 Prix Jean Prat on July 11 with a ninth-place run.

O'Brien said of the Coolmore partners' runners, “Order Of Australia has come out of the race [on Sunday] well. He cantered today and yesterday and he's very well. It's very possible that he could go. Obviously when he only ran at the weekend, we'd like to get him back in full work for four or five days and do the right thing for the horse.

“We have the choice of running here or going to the Lennox S., but at the moment we're thinking of the Sussex. He worked this morning and we were very happy with him.”

He added of Battleground, “He ran a very big race in Ascot. He was a little bit disappointing the last day, but he was drawn out on a wing and he's a horse that likes to get cover.

“We've been very happy with him since and we think Goodwood will suit him–we think he'll leave that run behind him and come right back to his Ascot run and better. It's very possible that he could go to the Sussex as well.”

The G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup S. could also feature three from Rosegreen, with 2020 G1 Derby hero Serpentine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), 2020 G1 Irish Derby victor Santiago (Ire) (Authorized {Ire}) and June 27 G2 Comer Group International Curragh Cup winner Amhran Na Bhfiann (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) all likely to start.

“We think coming back to two miles will help Santiago and Amhran Na Bhfiann the same,” said O'Brien. “There's a chance that Serpentine will run as well. We were thinking two of the three, we just haven't decided yet which two.”

O'Brien's G1 Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas one-two Empress Josephine (Ire) (Galileo {Ire} and Joan Of Arc (Ire) (Galile {Ire}), who subsequently won the G1 Prix de Diane, both hold an entry in the G1 Qatar Nassau S.

“The two fillies we were training for it [the Nassau] are Joan Of Arc, who won the Diane, and Empress Josephine,” said O'Brien. “Joan Of Arc has been progressing lovely all season and we've been looking at this with her for a good while. Empress Josephine could step up to a mile and a quarter to run [in] it as well. That's not definite, but it's very possible.”

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Audarya in Good Form For Nassau

Breeders' Cup champion Audarya (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), who was second in the G1 Prince Of Wales's S. at Royal Ascot in June, is doing well in advance of the July 29 G1 Qatar Nassau S. One of the highlights of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, the 10-furlong contest appears a good fit for the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf heroine.

Soviet Song (Ire) (Marju {Ire}) won the Nassau 17 years ago for Fanshawe, who said on Monday, “Audarya seems in really good form. We've had the Qatar Nassau S. in mind for a while and she's been training well since Ascot. The handicapper kept her rating at 117 after the Prince Of Wales's S., but I felt it was a really good performance. I hope she can improve again.

Added the trainer of his G1 Prix Jean Romanet victress, “She won her Group 1s at Deauville and Keeneland which are both flat tracks, but she did win a handicap at Goodwood over 1-mile as a 3-year-old where she proved she can handle the track. In terms of ground, she has run on everything. It was very testing when she won the Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville and they broke the track record on firm ground when she won the Filly and Mare Turf at Keeneland, she's very versatile.

“Circumstances have meant that we've had a few different jockeys ride her, but William [Buick] seemed to get on well with her in the Prince Of Wales's S. and hopefully he can ride her next Thursday.”

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A Glorious Send-Off

Goodwood’s Qatar Festival has lived up to its “Glorious” tag all week and Saturday sees the culmination with the G2 Qatar Lillie Langtry S. the key race for the staying fillies and mares. Despite there being only four participants, they are all notable performers in the category and last year’s winner Enbihaar (Ire) (Redoute’s Choice {Aus}) will have to be at or near her best to bring up the repeat. Twelve months ago, the Shadwell representative gave a stone and a five-length beating to Manuela de Vega (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), defying the anchor of a combination of weight-for-age and a penalty here prior to adding Doncaster’s G2 Park Hill S. to her tally. Perhaps undone by testing ground when third in the G1 Prix de Royallieu at ParisLongchamp and fourth in the 12-furlong G2 Princess of Wales’s S. on her seasonal bow at Newmarket July 9, she has ideal conditions again here.

Shadwell’s racing manager Angus Gold is looking for improvement from her comeback effort.

“I thought she stayed on well in the last part of the race at Newmarket,” he explained. “It was her first run of the year, the trip was a bit short and the ground was soft enough for her as well. Hopefully, the ground will be on the quick side on Saturday, which will certainly help her. She is showing incredible enthusiasm and has this extraordinary action. You can never take anything for granted, but I would hope she’ll put her best foot forward.”

Since her heavy defeat in this last year, Manuela de Vega has come back at four a different proposition but had soft ground to suit when taking Haydock’s G3 Pinnacle S. June 7 and G2 Lancashire Oaks July 5 over a mile and a half. She gets the three-pound penalty as a result this time, which makes it all the harder for her to deal with Enbihaar but trainer Ralph Beckett is willing to give it a go.

“She’s in very good shape and we’re hoping she can go one better than last year,” he said. “We think she’s pretty adaptable ground-wise–I don’t think it makes too much difference to her. It won’t be easy giving the penalty away, but it’s feasible.”

Aside from that duo, the 3-year-olds Snow (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Cabaletta (GB) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) are worthy of respect with the former coming in on the back of a fifth in the G1 Irish Oaks at The Curragh a fortnight ago and Cheveley Park Stud’s TDN Rising Star Cabaletta also backing up quickly having won Newbury’s Listed Aphrodite S. over a mile and a half on the same day.

Deauville ramps up the action as the August Festival gets underway in earnest, with the G3 Prix Six Perfections Sky Sports Racing and G3 Prix de Psyche Sky Sports Racing enjoying a share of the focus. In the former for 2-year-old fillies, Sean Mulryan, Linda Shanahan and Susan Magnier’s unbeaten See The Rose (Ire) (Kendargent {Fr}) returns to the scene of her smooth six-furlong conditions success July 12. She has to deal with Godolphin’s Wedding Dance (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), a member of Charlie Appleby’s academy which always does well here and she impressed with a 3 1/4-length success in a Newmarket maiden over this seven-furlong trip July 11.

“We were very pleased with Wedding Dance last time out, when she won nicely and she came out of the race well. This looks a nice opportunity for her to step up in grade,” her trainer said.

In the Psyche over a mile and a quarter, Shadwell’s Raabihah (Sea the Stars {Ire}) will be a warm order, having finished a short neck and two head margins behind the subsequent G1 Nassau S. winner Fancy Blue (Ire) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) when fourth in the G1 Prix de Diane over 10 1/2 furlongs at Chantilly July 5. Again, Godolphin are at the fore with the Andre Fabre-trained Alkandora (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who took ParisLongchamp’s Listed Prix Melisande also over 10 1/2 furlongs last time July 2.

“Alkandora is in good form and has done really well since her last race,” Godolphin’s Lisa-Jane Graffard said. “She will appreciate a step up in trip in time, but Andre is very happy with her condition and she deserves a try at this level.”

Also in the mix is Tweenhills Fillies and Meridian International’s impressive June 7 Listed Pretty Polly Fillies’ S. winner Run Wild (Ger) (Amaron {GB}), who will be more at home back at that trip having finished last in the G1 Coronation S. at Royal Ascot June 20.

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