STRADIVARIUS ON THE MONEY

IT wasn’t easy, it wasn’t pretty or the straightforward penalty kick some may have thought likely but Stradivarius and his team had a million reasons to smile yesterday after a hard-fought victory in the Lonsdale Cup.

Jockey Frankie Dettori said it was courage as much as class which carried the chestnut colt to a length-and-a-half win from Count Octave and which earned him the £1million bonus offered by sponsors Weatherbys Hamilton for adding yesterday’s race to wins this summer in the Yorkshire Cup, Ascot Gold Cup and Goodwood Cup.

Including his bonus, the son of Sea The Stars has now won almost £1.8m this year.

But the signs were evident early in yesterday’s race that the eightand-a-half miles he has raced in accumulating his prizemoney have also taken their toll.

Dettori, who tossed pretend £20 notes into the air in celebration on the winner’s podium, admitted he had endured a worrying race before Stradivarius got on top. The Italian, whose day got even better when he replaced the ill Jamie Spencer to win the Gimcrack Stakes on Kevin Ryantrained Emaraaty Ana, said: ‘Even if he has looked like he has been winning easily, he still has to run the distances.

‘Throughout the race he wasn’t carrying me as well as he has done in the past. I was concerned because I was always in fourth gear and not going as well as I have in the past.

‘I had to get really serious in the last two-and-a-half furlongs. I went to the stands rail to get some help and give him something to focus on.

‘But it was class and courage which got him through. It was not his best performance but, hey, we’re millionaires now!’

When the four-race WH Stayers’ Million Bonus sequence was unveiled in the spring it had never been previously achieved and John Gosden conceded it looked a tall order. The trainer said: ‘It’s a phenomenal achievement. Stradivarius is not a big horse but he has tremendous determination and a lot of class.

‘We’d have been better with a stronger pace but we are not going to complain because he won. We all thought the bonus was a fabulous promotion so we have supported it.’

Owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen picks up more than £700,000 of the bonus with the rest shared between Dettori, Gosden and his stable staff.

Stradivarius is now due a rest but could run again this season. The best option might be the British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot on October 20.

But it looks certain that he will be back bonus hunting next season. Nielsen said: ‘It’s the obvious thing to keep him to those races. I have no inclination to take him to Australia for the Melbourne Cup or travel him.

‘He is only young for a stayer, four years old. If he stays sound he can go round the clock here next year and the year after.’ However, winning the bonus next year might be even harder. Insurance brokers Weatherbys Hamilton are considering broadening the initial four-race sequence with additional races in France and Germany.

While the Lonsdale Cup took three-and-a-half minutes to run, the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes was over in 57 seconds with only a cigarette paper separating Bryan Smart-trained, Graham Leeridden 40-1 winner Alpha Delphini and runner-up Mabs Cross (inset picture, right).

Alpha Delphini, a seven-year-old gelding, had never previously won a group race but Smart said he had been confident of a big run because the horse was ‘the best I’ve ever had him’.

‘I backed him this morning,’ said Smart. ‘I had a tenner each-way at 80-1 because I thought that was an insulting price.’

Disappointment of the race was odds-on favourite Battaash, who finished fourth.