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‘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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Goodwood Target Undecided For Lady Bowthorpe

William Jarvis is to decide between Group 1 targets for stable star Lady Bowthorpe (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) at Goodwood next week with the Qatar Nassau S. and Qatar Sussex S. both under consideration.

The 5-year-old mare, owned by Emma Banks, started her season with victory in the G2 Dahlia S. at Newmarket and was then runner-up to Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in the G1 Lockinge S. A poor blood test has ruled Palace Pier out of the Sussex S., bringing the mile contest and a clash with top 3-year-old colt Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}) into contention.

Issuing an update on Lady Bowthorpe following her close-up fourth in the G1 Falmouth S. after meeting some trouble in running, Jarvis said, “Our initial thoughts after the Falmouth were to head to the Qatar Nassau Stakes, to keep her against her own sex and step her up to 10 furlongs. I'm very confident that she'll stay the extra two furlongs. With Palace Pier ruled out, we'll certainly have a look at the opposition in the Qatar Sussex Stakes but I'm certainly leaning towards the Nassau.”

He added, “She was very tired when she came out of the Lockinge Stakes, but we had a very good preparation between Ascot and Newmarket, and she's really been pleasing me since the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes.”

“In the Falmouth Stakes, I didn't think she got the rub of the green, but Snow Lantern is a very good filly. I felt at the time that we were the best horse in the race.”

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Palace Pier to Miss Sussex With Unsatisfactory Blood Work

Top-class miler Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) will miss the G1 Qatar Sussex S. at Goodwood on July 28, after presenting with poor blood work in advance of the race. The Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum colourbearer has compiled an enviable record of eight wins in nine starts, and was last seen saluting in the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot. He had opened his 2021 campaign with a win in the G2 bet365 Mile at Sandown on Apr. 23 and added the G1 Al Shaqab Lockinge S. at Newbury on May 15.

Co-trainer Thady Gosden said, “His bloods are off, and obviously it wouldn't have been the right thing to do to try and push him into the Sussex. The next race that suits him is the [Aug. 15 G1] Prix Jacques le Marois [at Deauville]. We'll have to miss Goodwood, which is frustrating.

“Hopefully we'll take him to France. He obviously won the Jacques le Marois last year, so it's a good back-up.”

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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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