Beaten Stradivarius to fight on
STRADIVARIUS, thwarted by a neck yesterday in his bid for a historic fifth Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup, looks likely to go for the Lonsdale Cup at York next month in another attempt to end his illustrious career on a high note.
Victory in a dramatic race here would almost certainly have seen the curtain fall on a 35-race career in which Stradivarius has earned his owner- breeder Bjorn Nielsen £ 5.3million in prizemoney and bonuses. Defeat by Aidan O’Brientrained Ascot Gold Cup winner Kyprios, with Alan King-trained Trueshan a length-and-a- quarter further back in third, was disappointing but showed that Stradivarius still has plenty to give despite being eligible to claim his pension.
How much a little jostling in the home straight — first with Trueshan and later Thunderous — and then having to race alone on the far rail played a part in Stradivarius’s defeat was debatable. But Nielsen
was adamant it was a factor and he was equally determined that his colt’s career should not end in downbeat fashion.
The owner said: ‘I don’t want to say I think he could have won, but things didn’t go right for him.
‘They were wide apart and he got beat a neck. He won’t stop at that, this is not his last race.
‘Unless they double the prizemoney, he won’t go back to the Doncaster Cup, but he could potentially run in the Lonsdale Cup at York.’
Trainer John Gosden added: ‘ He got a bit stranded and had nothing left to race with. Stradivarius is a wise old owl now and he knows when he gets to the front that he has done his bit.
‘At his age, he likes something to run with and has never been a horse to go and win by far.’
The build-up to yesterday’s race had been dominated by jockey drama, with Stradivarius’s regular rider Frankie Dettori being replaced by Andrea Atzeni in the aftermath of the horse’s defeat in last month’s Ascot Gold Cup.
Dettori, who won the opening Chesterfield Cup on Forest Falcon, trained by Charlie and Mark Johnston, admitted he was sad to lose the Stradivarius ride. But he was alongside Nielsen and the Gosdens in the paddock before the big race, hoping for a positive outcome.
Having endured his nightmare at Ascot, Dettori probably empathised with his fellow Italian rider as events unfolded up the home straight.
But the one thing that should not be overlooked was the determined way 6-4 favourite Kyprios stuck his head down in the last 50 yards, pulling out more.
He is undoubtedly the future of the staying division but at this stage he is the support act to one of the greatest the sport has ever seen.
There was a fabulous ovation for Stradivarius as he returned to the unsaddling enclosure, while Kyprios, who now goes for the Irish St Leger, slipped back almost unnoticed. That will not always be the case.
Kyprios is the emerging star but Stradivarius is not finished yet.