By Tom Frary
With a hefty storm brewing overhead Goodwood, Highfield Farm's Coppull (Bated Breath) showed his rivals a clean pair of heels in Thursday's G2 Markel Richmond Stakes. Third in the Coventry last month, David Armstrong's homebred was 5-1 to provide Clive Cox with a third renewal of this six-furlong contest in seven years and was always happy in front of the group racing towards the stands under David Probert.
Finding the fence late on, the colt named like most of the owner-breeder's horses after a Lancashire village kept up the momentum to score by two lengths from Ballydoyle's Puerto Rico (Wootton Bassett), with the Windsor Castle winner Havana Hurricane (Havana Gold) a neck away in third.
“He's got such a beautiful action on a nice surface I was concerned about the rain, but he is very quick and found an easy rhythm,” Cox said in a drenched winner's enclosure. “There is a lot of years' work going into these families by Sophie and David Armstrong, so it gives me a great thrill to help them win these types of races.”
“He's very gifted and a proper six-furlong horse, so the Middle Park will be the end goal this year and he has a bit of size and scope there so I don't see why he won't make up into a really nice three-year-old as well. I'm not sure he'd go on soft, so if the race had been later with this rain it would have been harder work.”
Aidan O'Brien said of Puerto Rico, “I am very happy with that. It was a lovely run. I would say he would be happy going up to seven furlongs.” Eve Johnson Houghton's season of seasons continues apace with Havana Hurricane again involved in a significant heat. '”He has run a lovely race. The soft ground has just caught him out,” she said. “He hasn't got the same electric turn of foot like he shows when it is firm ground. He is so game and still tried. He is in the Gimcrack Stakes at York but that will probably be a bit too soon, so then there is the Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury.”
He started in the sunshine but finished in a storm 🌧️
Coventry Stakes 3rd Coppull stays on strongly up the stands' rail to land the G2 Richmond Stakes 🟥⬜️@davidprobert9 | @Qatar_Racing | @Goodwood_Races pic.twitter.com/SGLVwU4Q3o
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 31, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Coppull is the second foal out of the Stud's dual winner Springwood Drive (Mayson), a daughter of the 20,000gns purchase Ocean Boulevard (Danehill Dancer) who was snapped up from the Meon Valley Stud draft at the 2015 Tattersalls July Sale. Responsible for the smart handicapper Bickerstaffe and fairly useful Coppull Hall Lane also by Armstrong's July Cup hero Mayson, she is out of Ventura Highway (Machiavellian) who produced the G3 Lingfield Derby Trial winner Allessandro Volta (Montjeu).
The fifth dam is the G2 Prix de l'Opera heroine Bella Colora (Bellypha), the half-sister to the Irish Oaks heroine Colorspin (High Top) and Irish Champion Stakes hero Cezanne (Ajdal) from the dam line of the famous tap-root mare Reprocolor (Jimmy Reppin). Included in the pedigree are the multiple Group scorer Poet (Pivotal), the G2 Dante Stakes winner Telecaster (New Approach) and the G2 Challenge Stakes winner Al Suhail (Dubawi). Springwood Drive's yearling colt is by A'ali, while she also has a filly foal by Perfect Power.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
