Goodwood Festival | Horse Racing Free Tips

Kyprios And Stradivarius Among Goodwood Cup Nine

Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) are set to renew their rivalry in Tuesday's G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup after a field of nine were confirmed on Sunday.

While Moyglare Stud, Coolmore and Westerberg's G1 Gold Cup winner and Bjorn Nielsen's four-times Goodwood Cup hero are set fair for the two-mile contest, Alan King will be watching the weather again for Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) and Mick and Janice Mariscotti's impressive Listed Esher S. winner Coltrane (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) is another notable in the list.

Nielsen is convinced Stradivarius still has what it takes. “He hasn't lost any of his ability or enthusiasm and if things had gone the right way at Ascot last month I have no doubt that he could have won another Gold Cup, as when they turned in the others were all being ridden along and he was sitting there with a double handful,” he said.

“The way the races have been run, really since October 2018, the tactics have been to put Stradivarius in a pocket and that's a lot easier to do at Ascot as it's a short straight, whereas at York they can't hem him in as it's a long straight and they come up the middle. It happened the last time he won the Goodwood Cup too, as he was held in a pocket there until Frankie got out just in time.

“That's been the strategy and that's the way it is, but Andrea [Atzeni] knows the score. He's ridden him three times and won every time. It could be his last run, of course, but it depends on his performance now and he seems in really good form.”

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Goodwood Goals For Walker Fillies

Group 1 winner Dreamloper (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}) and Primo Bacio (Ire) (Awtaad {Ire}) will both be aimed at the Goodwood Festival later this month, trainer Ed Walker has revealed. The former, who races in the silks of J. Fill, ran third in last season's G1 Sun Chariot S. before posting a win in the May 1 G2 Dahlia S. and, in a new career best, the G1 Prix d'Ispahan at ParisLongchamp on May 29. She was sixth last out at the Curragh in the G1 Pretty Polly S. on June 26 and is bound for the July 28 G1 Nassau S.

“She's great, thankfully she's come out of the Curragh really well,” said Walker. “It was a bit of a no show really and if I had my time again, I would have scratched her. It was a bit of a shame as we ummed and ahed over whether to go. We were always going to the Pretty Polly, then changed our minds and were thinking [G1] Falmouth [S.] and then back to the Pretty Polly and as it turned out the Falmouth on very fast ground would have been the better spot probably.

“But that's life and she's come out of the race good and now we'll head to the Nassau S. and hope this weather holds good and we get some good summer ground. An easy 10 furlongs should be ideal for her.”

A winner at listed level in 2021, Primo Bacio ran third to Saffron Beach (Ire) (New Bay {GB}) in the G2 Duke Of Cambridge S. at Royal Ascot. The David Ward colourbearer returned in the July 8 G1 Falmouth S. but could only manage fourth after showing some early interest and fading in the final furlong. The G3 Oak Tree S. is next on her agenda.

Walker added, “It was a solid run [in the Falmouth], if not slightly disappointing. It probably wasn't up to the same level as her performance in it the previous year, but she ran fine. It was hard to make up ground and the pace held up well.

“We're going to lower our sights with her a little bit and bring her back in trip. We could head to the Oak Tree at Goodwood.”

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Breeders’ Cup Winner Audarya ‘In Really Good Form’ Ahead Of Nassau Stakes

It is 17 years since James Fanshawe's Soviet Song's came out on top in a thrilling finish in the Sussex Stakes, and the Newmarket handler is hoping that his star mare, Breeders' Cup winner Audarya can herself scale the heights and claim Group 1 glory at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

The daughter of Wootton Basset made an excellent seasonal reappearance at Royal Ascot when just failing to reel in Love in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes, and her trainer is delighted with her preparation for the Nassau Stakes, a 1 1/4-mile British Champions Series contest next Thursday, July 29.

Fanshawe, speaking from his Pegasus Stables in Newmarket on Monday morning, said:

“Audarya seems in really good form. We've had the Qatar Nassau Stakes in mind for a while and she's been training well since Ascot. You never quite know how fit they are after such a long gap between races, but she put in a good performance and we've been steering her towards this race ever since Ascot.”

Fanshawe is hopeful that Audarya will come on for that reappearance behind Love.

“The handicapper kept her rating at 117 after the Prince Of Wales's Stakes but I felt it was a really good performance. I hope she can improve again. It shows how far she's come, given that she started off in a Group 1 this year. Last year, her first win of the season came on her third start when winning a handicap off 99 on the 2nd August at Newcastle, so this season already looks very different.

An undoubted strength of Audarya is her versatility, with Fanshawe very relaxed by both the undulations at Goodwood and the ground.

“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 three-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.”

Talented 3-year-old fillies, including Snow Lantern, Snowfall and Santa Barbara, are all entered into the Qatar Nassau Stakes and if any of them turn, up will receive 9lbs from Audarya.

Fanshawe said: “I was having a look at the record of 3-year-olds in the race which is very good – five of the last six winners have been three. They get 9lbs from the older fillies and mares which is a lot of weight, but it's the same as at Ascot and we go there with a filly who is in good form and hopefully we can overcome that.”

Audarya has had five different jockeys in her 14 career starts but Fanshawe is hoping to retain the services of William Buick who rode her at Royal Ascot.

“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 Stakes and hopefully he can ride her next Thursday.”

One other significant James Fanshawe runner at the Qatar Goodwood Festival could come in the shape of Fresh, who finished secondin the Wokingham Handicap on the final day of Royal Ascot. The 4-year-old will head to the Unibet Stewards' Cup on Saturday, July 31, so long as the ground isn't too fast.

Speaking about the son of Bated Breath, Fanshawe said: “Fresh is in really good form, he worked nicely on Saturday. One proviso with him is that he needs to have some ease in the ground, he's just a better horse with give in the ground. Hopefully we'll get plenty of rain after the Nassau Stakes – it can chuck it down as much as it likes on Friday before the Stewards' Cup!”

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Rematch? Both Subjectivist, Stradivarius On Target For Goodwood Cup

Gold Cup hero Subjectivist and four-time Goodwood Cup winner Stradivarius are on course for an eagerly awaited rematch in the G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup (27 entries) on Tuesday, July 27.

Entries were revealed Wednesday for seven races during the Qatar Goodwood Festival, including the two-mile highlight and the G1 Qatar Nassau Stakes.

The Qatar Goodwood Festival runs from Tuesday, July 27 to Saturday, July 31, with the first three days forming part of the Tote World Pool series.

All eyes were on the John & Thady Gosden-trained Stradivarius at Royal Ascot as he attempted to emulate Yeats' record of four Gold Cups, but it was Subjectivist who powered to an emphatic five-length victory as Stradivarius met trouble in running to finish fourth.

Mark Johnston's stable star is building quite a CV, with last week's success coming on the back of equally dominant victories in the G1 Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp in October and the G2 Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan, UAE, in March.

Johnston has sent out five winners of the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup, including Double Trigger, who captured the race three times between 1995 and 1998 – a feat surpassed by Stradivarius last year.

Johnston said: “Subjectivist has had a very easy time of it since his run in the Gold Cup. He will have a gradual return back to full work, with the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup being the next target.

“Looking back at the Gold Cup, it was a very exciting performance. Whichever way you look at it, whether it be the form, the time, the sectional times, the distance he won by, it all points to it being an absolutely top-draw performance.

“In fairness, his win before that in Dubai was very good, but I suppose everybody is generally slightly sceptical of the Dubai form. But at Ascot he has confirmed it by running a very similar race in terms of style. I don't think there are any doubts about the horse now.

“It is well-documented that I love the stayers, and it means a huge amount to me personally to have a horse like this. With horses who run in these big two-mile plus races, the big concern is can you keep them sound, but barring any injuries or problems, he is an extremely exciting horse to have.”

Regarding a rematch with Stradivarius, Johnston added: “I think if you read my blog, you will see that I said, 'Subjectivist was bred by Susan Hearn, Barry Hearn's wife, and if this was another sport, Barry Hearn would be promoting the rematch and we'd all be making a lot of money out of it!' But seriously, a big clash between these two horses at Goodwood will be very good for racing.”

Stradivarius has made the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup his own since landing the spoils for the first time as a three-year-old in 2017. Bjorn Nielsen's homebred is chasing an unprecedented fifth straight victory, a feat unlikely to be repeated in a race that dates back to 1812.

Other high-profile entries include G2 Yorkshire Cup victor Spanish Mission (Andrew Balding), who was third behind Subjectivist at Royal Ascot, and 2019 St Leger victor Logician (John & Thady Gosden).

Irish trainer Joseph O'Brien has three entries, including Melbourne Cup victor Twilight Payment and prolific G2 Belmont Gold Cup winner Baron Samedi.

The Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup is part of the British Champions Series.

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