Virtuoso triple for Stradivarius
● Gosden’s star wins Goodwood Cup for the third time to emulate Double Trigger
Stradivarius strengthened his grip on the staying division with a third successive victory in the Qatar Goodwood Cup.
John Gosden’s star stayer had a faultless campaign in 2018, winning the Yorkshire Cup, the Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup and the Lonsdale Cup to land a huge bonus through the inaugural Weatherbys Hamilton Stayers’ Million.
The five-year-old added the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup back at Ascot in October, and has continued in the same vein this term – with successful defences of the Yorkshire Cup and the Gold Cup setting up his Goodwood hat-trick bid.
The Bjorn Nielsen-owned chestnut was a warm order to emulate the hugely popular Double Trigger by becoming a three-time winner, and the 4-5 favourite ultimately did so with the minimum of fuss.
Frankie Dettori was happy to play a waiting game as the Tim Easterby-trained Wells Farhh Go set a strong pace and quickly opened up a huge lead. He began to falter, however, and it was left for the big guns to fight it out.
Mark Johnston’s Gold Cup runner-up Dee Ex Bee did his best to draw the finish out of Stradivarius, while Melbourne Cup hero and Gold Cup fourth Cross Counter travelled into the race smoothly.
But neither could live with the trademark finishing kick of Stradivarius and he was good value for the winning margin of a neck over Dee Ex Bee, with Dettori celebrating before passing the post. Gosden said: “He is a gorgeous horse. Wells Farhh Go is smart and I know he went too hard, but it is a dangerous thing to give someone 25 lengths around here and he is a good horse.
“It is still good ground as the rain has come, but it has blasted through and it has not sat over us.
“He probably would have won in good to soft, but that is not his favourite.
“He can quicken and horses that can quicken want top of the ground. It is the great weapon they have, and if you take that away it blunts them.”
Gosden’s Too Darn Hot is favourite again for today’s Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, despite coming off worse against the re-opposing Circus Maximus when they last met at Ascot.
Last year’s champion juvenile has not enjoyed the same success this term but he finally returned to winning ways in France last time out when dropped to seven furlongs.
Gosden said: “Finally we are letting the horse do what he wants to do – run and show his speed and class.
“We went to France with a lot of confidence because his work was brilliant going in. He just showed he had come back to himself, because he went through a hellish spring.
“He handles any ground.”