Tag: Stradivarius (Ire)

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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World Leader Baaeed Set to Light Up Goodwood

The unbeaten Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), the world's top-rated turf horse, will return to the racecourse on July 27 for the G1 Qatar Sussex S., in which he looks set to face the 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace S winner Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}).

The clash of the Shadwell and Godolphin stars will be one of the highlights of the five-day Glorious Goodwood meeting, which gets underway next Tuesday.

William Haggas, who has trained Baaeed to eight straight victories, including four Group 1 wins, said on Tuesday in Newmarket at a media event organised by Goodwood Racecourse, “We are all set to go with Baaeed, hopefully. He worked this morning and, provided everything is ok over the next couple of days, we are away and will see what evolves.”

He continued: “Coroebus is obviously a high-class horse. Two of ours [My Prospero and Maljoom] finished third and fourth behind him in the St James's Palace S., not beaten far. I was not that impressed with him–and I have to be careful because he is a very smart horse–but I don't think he was at his best that day. I think Maljoom, and I don't think this is just trainer talk, would have won in another couple of strides. At the moment, there is a fair bit of distance between Baaeed and Maljoom.”

The trainer indicated that Baaeed, who has only ever raced at a mile, will step up to 10 furlongs for his next start after Goodwood.

“I don't think Baaeed has much to prove but his pedigree smacks of further,” Haggas said. “He relaxes so well, he has a great mind, and I would love to see him over further at York in Juddmonte International. I remember so vividly when Frankel won that race, it was like a piece of work for him. Anyone who was there, it made your hairs stand up because he was imperious. I hope that Baaeed would be able to travel as strongly and then be able to use his turn of foot. I am very keen to have a go.

“We are just starting to say amongst ourselves in the yard that we need to prepare for life after him–which I know sounds a bit pathetic–because he won't be around for us to enjoy next year. Finding another one is the target.”

Haggas is also likely to run Cheveley Park Stud's Sacred (GB) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) in the G2 World Pool Lennox S.

“[It] looks the obvious race for Sacred, as she likes seven furlongs and fast ground. We are going to leave her in the Qatar Sussex S. at the owner's request, just in case the race cuts up, but seven is her best trip,” he said.

“We will run only one in the Qatar Nassau S. and it will either be Lilac Road (Ire), who wants fast ground, or My Astra (Ire), who can't have it soft enough. I suspect it will be Lilac Road, because we have had this in mind since she won the Middleton. It is her part-owner Julia Aisbitt's birthday on Nassau day, so this looks a good target.”

As well as the Lope De Vega (Ire) filly My Astra, Haggas also hopes to run Sea La Rosa (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), for the same owner, Sunderland Holdings, in the G3 Qatar Lillie Langtry S.

“She won over a mile and five furlongs at Lingfield last year, so she will stay the trip well. She is very tough and very hardy, but I can't see anything beating Free Wind if she puts up a performance similar to Haydock,” he added.

Baaeed will share top billing at Goodwood with Bjorn Nielsen's star stayer Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who will have the spotlight firmly on him on the opening day of the meeting when he is set to line up for the G1 Qatar Goodwood Cup for the fifth time. He notched his first of four wins in the contest in 2017 and missed last year's race after heavy rain turned the ground against him.

His co-trainer John Gosden said: “Stradivarius is happy. He has maintained his enthusiasm for the game throughout and enjoys his training. We couldn't really be more pleased with him for a chap at this stage of his career, so we are very much looking forward to it.”

He added, “You are very lucky to have a horse or a racemare like that ever come to you, and then to enjoy their longevity and their amazing consistency at that top level. That is testament to the horse, the breeder, and to have that constitution is pretty remarkable. That is probably what has been so fulfilling and the fact he is rather like Enable was. Expressive, rather outgoing, joyous.”

Reflecting on the remarkable career of the 8-year-old, who will be ridden by Andrea Atzeni, Gosden added: “His first Goodwood Cup and his first Gold Cup would be the highlights. Winning the Goodwood Cup as a 3-year-old and then the Gold Cup as a 4-year-old. He has built on that down the years. There aren't many Flat horses who stay around like him. I always remember when Rachel and I came back from America.

“It is pretty set who the key horses are in the Goodwood Cup. We're happy at two miles or two and a half miles. Stradivarius would run a big race over a mile and a half. So, to that extent, I have been pleased with him all along and we're looking forward to it. He is quick on his feet and agile. That always helps around Goodwood. It is a downward, turning track and he probably enjoys the twists and turns of it. He probably finds it quite entertaining, like a fairground ride.”

Goodwood will also see the return of Imad Al Sagar's G1 Prix de Diane winner Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}), who is set to line up for the G1 Qatar Nassau S. on the Thursday of the meeting, while Free Wind (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is a likely starter for Saturday's G2 Qatar Lillie Langtry S.

“Nashwa has been very well since France,” said co-trainer Thady Gosden. “She ran in the Oaks and then backed up a few days later in France, which is a pretty serious testament to her. She had a pretty hard race at Epsom and ran an exceptional race. She didn't quite stay but still managed to come third. She has been a bit quiet since France as you would expect. She travelled all the way over to Chantilly and ran a huge race there, but she is coming back to herself now and seems in good shape for next week.”

He added, “It is a huge achievement for an owner-breeder to have a horse of this calibre. It is a very competitive game and a real testament to Imad Al Sagar, Blue Diamond [Stud] and all of the team for breeding a filly like her.”

Of George Strawbridge's Lillie Langtry S. contender, he said: “Free Wind didn't have the smoothest trip round at Haydock last time out, but she came out of that race in great form.

“She has won at Goodwood and is pretty versatile with regards to trip and running style. You can drop her in wherever you like. She doesn't want extremes, but she handles most ground.”

 

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Galileo Thursday Double As Kyprios Wins The Gold Cup

Thursday's G1 Gold Cup maintained its place at the heart of Royal Ascot with a thrilling and dramatic finale as Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Ryan Moore outgunned Mojo Star (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), with the latter falling foul to ill fortune for the second consecutive year. Sent off the 13-8 favourite on the back of his wins in Navan's Listed Vintage Crop S. Apr. 23 and Leopardstown's G3 Saval Beg Levmoss S. May 13, Kyprios who represents the consortium of Moyglare Stud, whose colours he sports, and messrs Magnier, Tabor, Smith and Westerberg was held up in mid-division early out wide and out of trouble. It was a typical Gold Cup without much movement until the scramble out of the back straight and with Frankie panicking into angling off the rail he ended up nine-wide in the run for home as the Ballydoyle representative stayed on past Mojo Star in the final 150 yards. At the line, Kyprios had the measure of Amo Racing's seasonal debutante by half a length, with 3/4 of a length back to Stradivarius who paid for the errant passage he was forced to take.

Ryan Moore revealed it was far from straightforward afterwards. “It wasn't a nice race to ride,” he said. “I had to move him to the outside and I don't like doing that, but I felt I had to keep Kyprios going. Mojo Star has come to us, but this fella kicked in then and it was comfortable at the line. It wasn't a true test today and I don't think we saw the best of him. It was a more complicated race than it should have been and I think he was much the best. To be fair, Aidan had him earmarked for this a year ago! He knows what he is looking for and identified the right horse in him and it all worked out right.”

Kyprios was burying the memories of his three prior unhappy visits to this country, which had resulted in well-beaten efforts in the 2020 G3 Zetland S. and Listed Lingfield Derby Trial last May and an injury sustained in the stalls before this meeting's G2 Queen's Vase. Unbeaten in Ireland and still a lightly-raced project, the chestnut was tardy from the gates here and possibly further back than Moore would have wanted as Earlofthecotswolds (Fr) (Axxos {Ger}) enjoyed an easy time in front but it was Dettori who had the real issue as Stradivarius was hemmed against the rail and essentially trapped.

As Moore wound up the eventual winner approaching the home bend, Stradivarius was caught behind a wall and as he took a diagonal path to daylight the Willie Mullins raider Burning Victory (Fr) (Nathaniel {Ire}) loomed full of running up the inside route he could have enjoyed had Frankie held his nerve. Mojo Star looked to have pulled off a remarkable training performance from Richard Hannon until deep inside the last furlong, but Kyprios was too strong for a record eighth Gold Cup for Aidan O'Brien. “The horse was very brave,” he said. “We brought him here last year, but he came out underneath the stalls and his back was badly bruised and he didn't get to race any more. He missed the St Leger, so it was always the plan that we would train him with this race in mind and give him two preps for it.”

“He had the same tenacity that he showed all the other times and Ryan was very strong on him. It was great Stradivarius was here–it makes these races even more special and incredible. Kyprios is light-bodied and a good mover who looks after himself and they are all the things that he will need. He did it today and hopefully he can do it in the years to come. He could go to Goodwood next or something like the Irish St Leger.”

Richard Hannon said of Mojo Star, who came so close to emulating Le Moss (Ire) in winning this on his seasonal bow, “The Gold Cup next year will be the plan. He's very manoeuvrable. He can go back to a mile and a half and, now he gets two and a half miles, anything in between. I worked him with my milers–with Lusail and Chindit at Kempton and I thought he might have worked the best and wondered if he ought to be in the Queen Anne, or something! I thought then he might run a big race if he got the trip and he got the trip. It is gutting, it really is galling. We've had too many seconds this week, but it will come. The horse is a real pleasure to be associated with, and his day will come. He's been second in three group ones, now–Derbys, St Legers, Gold Cups; there aren't many of them.”

Reflecting on the deflating experience of watching helpless as Stradivarius became the victim of circumstance once again, John Gosden said, “I was bit surprised from having been in the box seat that we dropped back so far. The problem is when they sprint, you had to come wide to get a run and he had to come widest of all. He had a chance the last furlong and the race slipped on him as they had gone a steady pace. Stradivarius is a great horse to get here and to now run in five Gold Cups–to have the longevity he has had. He came back in and had a neigh, so he seems happy. Great credit to the horse and the owner-breeder to keep him racing. There are younger horses there that are first and second. I just wish we had been a little handier and not had to go through a wall of horses.”

Dettori added, “The younger horses had more legs than me at the end. I had every chance to get them, but they were stronger than me. He's been a great hero and came out flying. I had to pull out wide and the only place I could go was the outside and everything was getting tight. When I've pulled him out plenty of times, usually he's got the electric turn of foot, but he's not four anymore, he's eight. I laboured a bit at the end and I was never going to get them. He has been a star. You have to pass on the baton to the younger ones. He did his best and we're very proud of him.”

Kyprios becomes the third top-level winner for Moyglare's incredible Polished Gem (Ire) (Danehill) alongside his full-sister Search For a Song (Ire), who captured two renewals of the G1 Irish St Leger, and the G1 Prince of Wales's S.-winning sire Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}). He is her last known foal, with her tally of eight black-type winners also including the seven-times group scorer Custom Cut (Ire) (Nonowcato {GB}) and the G2 QIPCO British Champions Fillies & Mares S. winner Sapphire (Ire) (Medicean {GB}). Kyprios's other two full-siblings are the listed scorer and G2 Blandford S. runner-up Amma Grace (Ire) and last year's Chester Cup winner Falcon Eight (Ire).

Polished Gem is a full-sister to the GI Matriarch S. heroine Dress To Thrill (Ire), with both being out of the G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Trusted Partner (Affirmed) who is also the third dam of the G1 Vincent O'Brien National S. hero Thunder Moon (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}). The third dam Talking Picture (Speak John) collected the GI Matron S. and GI Spinaway S. before producing five stakes winners, with the G2 Premio Legnano winner Easy To Copy (Affirmed) the ancestress of the G1 Grand Prix de Paris and G1 Sydney Cup hero Gallante (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}).

Thursday, Ascot, Britain
GOLD CUP-G1, £500,000, Ascot, 6-16, 4yo/up, 19f 210yT, 4:26.52, g/f.
1–KYPRIOS (IRE), 129, c, 4, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Polished Gem (Ire) (Broodmare Of The Year-Ire), by Danehill
2nd Dam: Trusted Partner, by Affirmed
3rd Dam: Talking Picture, by Speak John
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Moyglare Stud, Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Westerberg; B-Moyglare Stud Farm Ltd (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore. £283,550. Lifetime Record: GSW-Ire, 7-5-0-0, $434,026. *Full to Search For A Song (Ire), 2x Hwt. Older Mare-Eur at 14f+, MG1SW-Ire, SW & GSP-Eng, $951,390; Falcon Eight (Ire), SW-Eng & GSP-Ire, $202,827; Amma Grace (Ire), SW & GSP-Ire; and 1/2 to Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}), Hwt. Older Horse-Eur at 9.5-11f, G1SW-Eng, GSW & G1SP-Ire, $926,416; Sapphire (Ire) (Medicean {GB}), Hwt. Older Mare-Ire at 11-14f, MGSW & G1SP-Ire, GSW-Eng, $518,947; Custom Cut (Ire) (Notnowcato {GB}), Hwt. Older Horse-Ire at 7-9.5f, MGSW-Eng & Ire, $951,925; and Valac (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), GSW-Aus, $356,631. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Mojo Star (Ire), 129, c, 4, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Galley (GB), by Zamindar. (130,000gns Wlg '18 TATFOA; 220,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT). O-Amo Racing Ltd; B-Barbara Prendergast (IRE); T-Richard Hannon. £107,500.
3–Stradivarius (Ire), 130, h, 8, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Private Life (Fr), by Bering (GB). (330,000gns RNA Ylg '15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John & Thady Gosden. £53,800.
Margins: HF, 3/4, NK. Odds: 1.63, 7.50, 2.00.
Also Ran: Burning Victory (Fr), Tashkhan (Ire), Princess Zoe (Ger), Bubble Smart (GB), Alignak (GB). Scratched: Trueshan (Fr). Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

 

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Ringside At Royal Ascot On Thursday

If Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) could talk, and by now it's almost as if he can, he would probably sound like Ali as he approaches his own version of the legendary “Rumble In the Jungle” at an Ascot with a suitably high reading on the thermometor. “I'm gonna dance!” he would shout. “There's nothing to be scared of.” Whether he's been busy handcuffing lightning or chopping down trees ahead of his great hour fighting to regain his title in Thursday's G1 Gold Cup only connections know, but his preparation has apparently been carefully masterminded to deal with the challenge. And it is a challenge, of every nerve and sinew in his perfectly biomechanically-engineered body, a body that has withstood over 60 miles of racing and thousands of miles of training gallops. If that isn't remarkable enough, his mental fortitude is. He has an unflinching desire to carry the fight into his veteran stage and gain that oh-so-hard-to-get fourth Gold Cup. There is nothing like the Royal meeting's monument, so revered in past times and so needlessly neglected for a spell in the later part of the last century. It is back where it belongs as the showcase of the week, thanks largely to a truly great racing character like Stradivarius.

 

Gosden's Corner

John Gosden was also keen to use a boxing analogy as he held court to the press in the build-up. “He's an old pro now, he goes in the ring, does what he has to do and comes home,” he said. “His regime [is] a little bit mixed up, but don't go trying to make anything tougher or harder for him–that does not go down very well at all. He was probably in his prime at five maybe into six, but at eight you have to face the fact that it's like a boxer getting back in the ring too late in his career sometimes. He's up for it and the plan was always to try to run at Ascot and Goodwood and we're sticking to the plan as long as he's with us and he is at the moment.”

 

The Contender

If 2021 was Stradivarius's version of rope-a-dope, Thursday could see him throw those combinations that have set him apart from the 210 opponents he has mastered down the years. Every great bout needs a significant opponent and with Trueshan (Fr) (Planteur {Ire}) almost certainly out of the equation, that is Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). Half the Nielsen runner's age and as vibrant and menacing as it gets, he hails from a Ballydoyle stable that specialises in fostering the power of its heavyweights. He is the Foreman or Frazier, intent on destruction from the front coming off a 14-length win in Leopardstown's G3 Saval Beg Levmoss S. May 13. Surging to the fore in Navan's Listed Vintage Crop S. Apr. 23, the chestnut who sports the Moyglare silks has one problem as he enters Stradivarius's back garden. His three visits to England have resulted in no-shows in the 2020 G3 Zetland S. and Listed Lingfield Derby Trial last May and a panic in the stalls before this meeting's G2 Queen's Vase which injured him. As Foreman was lost in Zaire, will it be the case that Kyprios's strength is diminished by unfamiliar terrain?

 

In Battaash's Shadow

Kicking off the action is the G2 Norfolk S., where Ballydoyle are again prominent with the super-charged The Antarctic (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}). His full-brother Battaash (Ire), so dominant in deepest Sussex and virtually unbeatable elsewhere, took four goes to win here and was successful only once in five appearances at Royal Ascot. Aidan O'Brien has talked about keeping a lid on the grey ahead of this examination and while he has hardly been electric at Tipperary and Naas, it may be that he is about to cut loose.

 

Precedent Set For Walbank

Tuesday saw Bradsell (GB) (Tasleet {GB}) convert the currency gained from a wide-margin prep win at York into success in the prestigious G2 Coventry S. and Amo Racing and Omnihorse Racing's fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Star Walbank (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) bids to do the same in the Norfolk after scoring by seven lengths on the Knavesmire May 22. The Coventry was robbed of the high-class Noble Style (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who had beaten Walbank over this course and distance May 7, but Royal Scotsman (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) did the form a great service having been fourth on that occasion behind the talented duo and another of this race's protagonists in Redemption Time (GB) (Harry Angel {Ire}). The latter represents Dalham Hall Stud's first-season sire, while Coolmore's Sioux Nation has both Sheikh Abdullah Almalek Alsabah's Apr. 27 Royal Ascot Two-Year-Old Trial Conditions S. winner Bakeel (GB) and Brian Goodyear's six-length Apr. 23 Doncaster maiden scorer Brave Nation (Ire) to fly his flag.

 

Within Reach

As far as the Royalists are concerned, the best is saved for second last on Thursday with The Queen's Reach For the Moon (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) set to go off very short in the penultimate G3 Hampton Court S. Frankie's Royal Ascot has been one to forget so far and if Stradivarius can turn things around at 4:20p he will be perfectly teed up for this grand climax. Off the board on Wednesday, Jane Chapple-Hyam looks to provide the sternest opposition with Claymore (Fr) (New Bay {GB}), whose second in the G3 Craven S. Apr. 13 was followed by a nightmare trip in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains at ParisLongchamp May 15, where the combination of a wide draw and over-racing put paid to any chance.

“I'm not afraid to wreck the Queen's Platinum Jubilee–it will be 'off with her head' if I do,” she joked. “It is an interesting race, as clearly the Queen's horse is the favourite and Frankie Dettori and John Gosden have been very bold about that. I think that is their banker and many people's banker of the week. When Claymore was second in the Craven, the third horse Hoo Ya Mal (GB) (Territories {Ire}) was subsequently second in the [G1] Derby and people are forgetting that. I think he has got a bit of a squeak.”

 

The Road Most Taken

The G2 Ribblesdale S. unfortunately has no Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), but in Sunderland Holding's Sea Silk Road (GB) it has another daughter of the Gilltown Stud giant who could yet make waves. There is little in the form of her narrow success in Goodwood's May 20 Listed Height of Fashion S. that suggests she is worthy of her cramped odds, but of course we are talking about a lightly-raced William Haggas-trained filly and the trend of late has been for punters to follow blind. Zhang Yuesheng's Magical Lagoon (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has an experience edge and Jessie Harrington has been waiting patiently since her second in Navan's Listed Salsabil S. over a mile and a quarter on Apr. 23.

 

Songs Stays At Home

As expected, Moyglare Stud's brilliant G1 Irish 1000 Guineas winner Homeless Songs (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) was not confirmed  for Friday's G1 Coronation S. with the hot and dry forecast remaining in place until at least Saturday. Cheveley Park Stud's Inspiral (GB) (Frankel {GB}) will face 11 rivals, including the G1 1000 Guineas heroine Cachet (Ire) (Aclaim {Ire}).

Click here for the group fields.

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