Stradivarius Next Up For Frankie

[Wandering Eyes]

Frankie Dettori’s golden summer stretches on without a hint of relenting and after basking in the glory of major victories at Epsom, Royal Ascot, Saint-Cloud, Sandown, Deauville, The Curragh and back at Ascot he is at Goodwood on Tuesday with the promise of more. Seven of his nine group wins over the past two months have come for John Gosden and one of the most prized of them all came on Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in the June 20 G1 Gold Cup at the Royal meeting. Were Bjorn Nielsen’s incredible chestnut to add to his rider’s sequence in the G1 Qatar Goodwood Cup and increase his own tally to eight consecutive triumphs, it will be the stuff of which dreams are made for connections. Already a dual winner of this, he will have most of the hearts of the nation willing him on in what could be his toughest test to date.

“Everything has been good and I’ve been happy with him,” Gosden said. “They went harder in the Ascot Gold Cup last year, so he had to race harder. This year’s was quite steady and then they quickened. We gave him a nice, easy fortnight after that. The old boy seems to be back in the zone, so we are looking forward to the race. I think the drop back to two miles will help the others as he gets two and a half miles well. As long as he gets there in good order, I will leave it up to the jockey and him.”

Stradivarius is bidding to join Double Trigger (Ire) (Ela-Mana-Mou {Ire}) in bringing up a treble in this prestigious staying affair. As that former Mark Johnston luminary succeeded in 1995, 1997 and 1998 Stradivarius will be the first in its long history to win three on the bounce so after the pressure of Enable on Saturday it is straight back into the cauldron for the trainer-jockey combination. “I think any of these great staying horses are very important to the whole tapestry of the racing programme in Europe, let alone here in England,” Gosden added. “Any great Cup horse, whether it is an Ardross or a Sagaro, they very much capture the imagination and Double Trigger was no exception. It would be exciting if he could win it three times like him.”

Back in opposition are the Gold Cup second and fourth Dee Ex Bee (GB) (Farhh {GB}) and Cross Counter (GB) (Teofilo {Ire}), who filled the first two positions in last year’s G3 Gordon S. On that occasion, Godolphin’s eventual G1 Melbourne Cup hero put 4 1/2 lengths between them and broke the track record as a result so he is obviously at home on what is one of the country’s trickier venues. “He is a horse that handles the track, as he is the track record holder over a mile and a half,” trainer Charlie Appleby confirmed. “He has come out of Ascot in good shape and dropping back to two miles is a positive. They didn’t go an overly-strong gallop at Ascot and we purposely dropped him out to get the trip and the way the race worked out, you probably wanted to be further forward. I’m not going to be bold and say we will turn things around, but I feel this race will play more to the strengths of our horse.”

Dee Ex Bee may have the misfortune to be racing at the same time as one of the true greats of the staying scene, but he is still unexposed in this category, hails from a stable in potent form and is ridden by a master in Silvestre de Sousa. Mark Johnston’s son and assistant Charlie said, “He’s in great order and it’s a repeat of Ascot really, apart from it’s half a mile shorter. I don’t see any reason why he shouldn’t be as effective over two miles as he was over two and a half in the Gold Cup. Hopefully he’ll run up to the level of his Ascot form and if for whatever reason Stradivarius has an off-day, we’ll be there to pick up the pieces.”

Of the 3-year-olds getting 15 pounds weight-for-age, the Marsicottis’ June 19 G2 Queen’s Vase winner Dashing Willoughby (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) goes up in trip having been fourth in Newmarket’s G2 Princess of Wales’s S. at a mile and a half July 11, while Ballydoyle’s chief prospect South Pacific (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) is also sent over a half mile further than when winning Royal Ascot’s King George V H. June 20. Andrew Balding said of the former, “I’m delighted with the horse and he has improved all year. I thought it was a good run back over a mile and a half last time and two miles should be no problem for him. It’s a big lump of weight he receives and any rain will help his chances.”

A star-studded opening card also sees Godolphin’s Pinatubo (Ire) (Shamardal) bid to confirm superiority over ‘TDN Rising Star’ Lope Y Fernandez (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}), having beaten him by 3 1/4 lengths in Royal Ascot’s Listed Chesham S. June 22. He is arguably Britain’s leading juvenile colt of 2019 as it stands and Charlie Appleby is hoping he can confirm that status in a strong edition. “He’s come out of the Chesham in good form. I think he should suit the track with the style of how he races,” he said of the unbeaten homebred, who has already handled Epsom’s undulations when taking the May 31 Woodcote S. “Hopefully it will play to our strengths. He has got pace, but the step up to seven was always going to help him and he showed his class at Ascot. It was not a weak race as the second horse was strongly fancied and some nice form is coming out of the race, with the fourth horse finishing second in a listed race at Ascot on Saturday. I definitely think this is the best 2-year-old race we have seen this year. Hopefully he will step forward again.”

Hot favourite for the G2 July S. at Newmarket July 11 after his impressive winning debut over the same six-furlong strip June 8, Rob Ferguson’s TDN Rising Star’ Visinari (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}) was beaten about a neck when third in a three-way go behind Ballydoyle’s Royal Lytham (Fr) (Gleneagles {Ire}) and Godolphin’s Platinum Star (Ire) (Lope de Vega {Ire}). Equipped with the best physical material of all these runners, he now has to put it all together to meet his potential. “I was annoyed when I read somewhere that he disappointed in the July S.,” trainer Mark Johnston’s son and assistant Charlie said. “The market might have been disappointed, but we certainly weren’t–he ran a screamer. The extra furlong will help, but even more so we think the experience he gained from running in a top-class race like that will help him improve enormously. I think this is probably the hottest 2-year-old race run all year in many ways. He does need to step up and it’s a big ask, but we’ll give it a go.”

Surprisingly, Richard Hannon has opted to let King Power Racing’s G2 Superlative S. winner Mystery Power (Ire) (No Nay Never) shoulder a three-pound penalty for that July 13 Newmarket success. That decision speaks volumes about the regard in which the unbeaten colt is held and his trainer is relishing seeing him in action again. “I didn’t quite think he would go to Newmarket and win a Group 2 like he did. He won it the hard way,” he explained. “He was going away at the line and I think he has improved again for that. Olympic Glory won the July S. and then the Vintage and King Torus did the same with a penalty. I think any more than three pounds has a massive effect. You see with these 2-year-olds in novice races that five-pound and six-pound penalties gets these good horses beat, but I think three is doable.”

The day’s third pattern-race is the G2 Qatar Lennox S., where Ahmad Alotaibi’s Zaaki (GB) (Leroidesanimaux {Brz}) reverts to seven furlongs after losing out narrowly to the ill-fated Beat the Bank (GB) (Paco Boy {Ire}) in the July 13 G2 Summer Mile at Ascot. If he handles the sharp test and overcomes his wide draw, the May 1 Listed Pavilion S. and June 1 G3 Diomed S. scorer will be a serious contender. “He is in good shape and I think he is a well-balanced horse that will go round Goodwood and he is a strong-travelling horse which you need there,” trainer Sir Michael Stoute’s assistant James Horton said. “He is back at seven furlongs so we are going into the unknown a bit, but he seems in very good shape. His last run was very strong and he was beaten by a warrior. Although he could have been drawn better, he is a horse that needs to be ridden patiently. He was very consistent last year and although his last two runs were a bit below average he may have been over the top then. He has come of age this season and strengthened up.”

Drawn in five, Sultan Ali’s forward-going May 30 G3 Prix du Palais-Royal scorer Hey Gaman (GB) (New Approach {Ire}) is backed up 10 days after going under to Romanised (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) in the G2 Minstrel S. over this trip at The Curragh. Few horses could have lived with last year’s G1 Irish 2000 Guineas hero that day and he lost little in defeat, but James Tate is hoping this is not a case of coming back too soon. “It didn’t quite go to plan in the Minstrel, he lost a front shoe coming out of the stalls, the pacemaker was up with us the whole way and possibly softened us up for when Romanised came at the end,” he said. “We’ve done little with him, obviously, but he’s a big, strong horse and has put all his weight back on. We’ve given him a light campaign to aim for these races, with the Hungerford and the Foret also in the mix.”

Joseph O’Brien steps Chantal Regalado-Gonzalez’s Speak In Colours (GB) (Excelebration {Ire}) up in trip after winning the six-furlong Listed Dash S. at The Curragh June 29 and as a colt capable of almost placing in the June 22 G1 Diamond Jubilee S. is a fascinating runner. Only one 3-year-old lines up and that is Clipper Logistics’ June 22 G3 Jersey S. winner Space Traveller (GB) (Bated Breath {GB}). “I would just like to see him back up what he did at Ascot to give us a bit of confidence in him,” trainer Richard Fahey said of the talented but mercurial performer. “There’s no reason why he shouldn’t and we’ve no worries about the ground.”

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