By Tom Frary
Just three days after his star filly Enable (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) took full advantage of weight-for-age against the older horses by emulating the King George victory of Pawneese, John Gosden began the latest Glorious Goodwood meeting with a win in the opener's feature with one of that Wildenstein luminary's descendants in Stradivarius. This downing of the seemingly imperturbable Big Orange is a far cry from his earlier-season form, despite the taking nature of his six-length success in a 10-furlong handicap at Beverley Apr. 19 off an official handicap mark of 78. Turned over in a mile-and-a-half handicap at Chester May 10, the chestnut went forward from that invaluably educative encounter to beat Count Octave (GB) (Frankel {GB}) by a neck in Royal Ascot's G2 Queen's Vase June 23. That contest had been newly upgraded from listed to group 2 status and reduced from this two-mile trip to 14 furlongs this year and Stradivarius gave instant credence to that experiment with this notable success under the much-analysed age allowance.
As expected, it was the hero of the last two renewals and of the recent G1 Gold Cup Big Orange who set off to dictate and after gaining an initial prominent pitch behind him Stradivarius was shuffled backwards and ended up near the rear with Andrea Atzeni keen to keep him composed on this first encounter with the older stayers. As that favourite led the field into the straight occupying the centre of the track, the Gosden representative was making his move out of the pack and was angled towards the far-side rail to avoid eye contact. Big Orange is big, but even he cannot spread himself across the width of Goodwood's expanse and Atzeni whose antenna was up and perfectly-poised after two group wins already on the card kept the 3-year-old well out of range. Blindsided at first, Big Orange only had him on his radar when Stradivarius was already rolling past with a furlong remaining and he was never able to make a fist of it as he had with Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) at Ascot. As ever, the runner-up covered himself in glory, as after the other 3-year-old Desert Skyline had crossed the line in third it was seven lengths between Big Orange and the next older horse, last year's G1 Irish St Leger winner Wicklow Brave (GB) (Beat Hollow {GB}).
For Atzeni, who would go on to complete a four-timer, the afternoon proved a showcase for his talent in the saddle. “It's been a great day,” he simply said. “I thought he had a chance, as Big Orange was giving a lot of weight away and he is a 3-year-old who is improving and who stays well. I was speaking to Mr Gosden beforehand and I said if I had a chance to challenge, I didn't want to get near him and I would try and keep him away from him as much as I could. He is improving and is still a little bit raw. He was on and off the bridle, but picked up like a nice horse and could be anything.” John Gosden added, “He's not the biggest of horses and it was a bit rough after the first bend, but Andrea has been cool today and didn't panic and it opened up for us. This was [racing office manager] Peter Shoemark's idea and I thought at first he was mad, but then I saw the sense in it. He goes for the [G1 St] Leger [at Doncaster Sept. 16] obviously and interestingly Andrea said he is still mentally immature and doesn't know how good he is yet. He loves fast ground, but handled this well and has a big heart which is all that matters for a racehorse.”
Big Orange's trainer Michael Bell said, “We know he is better on faster ground, but the winner is probably a very good horse,” he commented. “He pulled well clear of the older horses and the other three-year-old was third. That weight concession is very tough for older horses, but he has run a huge race and I'm very proud of him because he gave his all and was beaten on the day by a horse that handled conditions better and arguably could one day be a better horse. It was slower than ideal for him, but he still ran a great race in defeat.”
Stradivarius's dam Private Life, who was purchased for just 70,000gns by Blandford Bloodstock at the 2006 Tattersalls December Mares Sale, has made a real name for herself by producing four black-type performers including the G3 Bavarian Classic and G3 Furstenberg-Rennen-winning German highweight Persian Storm and the G3 Abu Dhabi Championship third Rembrandt Van Rijn. From the family of the Australian champion stayer and German highweight Protectionist (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), hero of the G1 Melbourne Cup and G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin, the winner descends from the aforementioned Pawneese who was horse of the year in England and champion 3-year-old filly in France in 1976 courtesy of her triumphs in the King George and G1 Prix de Diane. Pawneese's half-sister Petroleuse (Ire) (Habitat) was successful in the G3 Princess Elizabeth S. before throwing a host of smart runners headed by the GIII William P. Kyne H. winner and GI San Luis Rey S. runner-up Provins (Chief's Crown) and GII Long Island H. winner Peinture Bleue (Alydar), while another of her half-siblings, the Prix de Psyche scorer Patia (Ire) (Don {Ity}) was later the dam of the G3 Tetrarch S.-winning sire Saratogan.
Tuesday, Goodwood, Britain
QATAR GOODWOOD CUP S.-G1, £523,000, GOO, 8-1, 3yo/up, 16fT, 3:25.47, gd.
1–STRADIVARIUS (IRE), 120, c, 3, by Sea the Stars (Ire)
1st Dam: Private Life (Fr) (MSP-Fr), by Bering (GB)
2nd Dam: Poughkeepsie (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Pawneese (Ire), by Carvin II
(330,000gns RNA Ylg '15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John Gosden; J-Andrea Atzeni. £296,593. Lifetime Record: 7-4-1-0, $522,891. *1/2 to Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), Hwt. 3yo-Ger at 9.5-11f & MGSW-Ger, $121,198; and Rembrandt Van Rijn (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), GSP-Eng, $163,881. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Big Orange (GB), 133, g, 6, Duke of Marmalade (Ire)–Miss Brown To You (Ire), by Fasliyev. O-W J & T C O Gredley; B-Stetchworth & Middle Park Studs (GB); T-Michael Bell. £112,445.
3–Desert Skyline (Ire), 120, g, 3, Tamayuz (GB)–Diamond Tango (Fr), by Acatenango (Ger). (€40,000 Ylg '15 GOFORB). O-C Benham/D Whitford/L Quinn/K Quinn; B-Tinnakill Bloodstock & Cannings (IRE); T-David Elsworth. £56,275.
Margins: 1 3/4, 3HF, 3HF. Odds: 6.00, 1.50, 14.00.
Also Ran: Wicklow Brave (GB), She Is No Lady (GB), Pallasator (GB), Sheikhzayedroad (GB), US Army Ranger (Ire), Sweet Selection (GB), Prince of Arran (GB), Higher Power (GB), High Jinx (Ire), Qewy (Ire), Oriental Fox (Ger). Scratched: Dal Harraild (GB), Simple Verse (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
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