Stradivarius Lands Historic Fourth Goodwood Cup

If he had not done enough already, Stradivarius once and for all cemented his status alongside Ardross, Le Moss, Sagaro, and Yeats as one of the all-time greats of the staying division with a historic fourth win in the Al Shaqab-backed Goodwood Cup (G1), but not before giving even his staunchest supporters reason to panic.

To be fair to Stradivarius, it was more the pocket his regular rider Frankie Dettori buried him in which caused the concern but, just as he has done on too many times to individually recollect, Stradivarius wriggled free and unleashed a turn of foot perhaps never witnessed in staying races.

"I wasn't expecting the race to be run like that," admitted Dettori. "Santiago was the one I feared most. I was trying to get in front of him from the start but Tom Marquand already had that spot so I had to drop back to get cover.

"I got behind the wheels of Santiago and I thought, with 15 pounds less on his back, he'd kick early and make the weight count but it turned into a two-furlong sprint.

"I was worried when I was held in, but once the split came I knew he was fine because his greatest weapon is his turn of foot—I don't remember a stayer with a turn of foot like his.

"If you want to sprint with Stradivarius you've got to be pretty good and, for all that I was boxed in for a furlong, once I got out he's got too many gears. He's all heart."

Even trainer John Gosden, who must be some poker player considering he never twitched for the entire length of Goodwood's straight, revealed he had suffered some anxiety beneath his ice-cool demeanor.

"I was nervous and coming to the furlong pole I was hoping things would open, but when the gap comes he has a turn of foot," said Gosden.

"The one thing me and Frankie were clear about was to wait as long as we could and then pounce. We didn't want a slog the whole way up the straight and I thought he rode him cannily. Thank goodness Frankie didn't have a crowd to wave at this year."

Moving one clear of Double Trigger as the first four-time winner of the Goodwood Cup, Stradivarius also boasts three Gold Cup (G1) wins, two victories apiece in the Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale (G2) and Yorkshire Cup (G2), and a single success in the Magners Rose Doncaster (G2) and QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cups (G2).

Trainer, jockey, and owner Bjorn Nielsen are now in agreement he has nothing left to prove in the staying division and he is set to revert to a mile and half, with the ultimate aim to face stablemate Enable in what is shaping into a legend-defining Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe (G1) in October.

"Mr. Nielsen and I have discussed it quite a lot," said Gosden. "He has no problem traveling and quickening over a mile and a half and he will be freshening up now and going for the Prix Foy (G2). If he runs a good race there he will go for the Arc."   

Gosden did not flinch when asked if he truly believed Stradivarius could live with Saturday's record-breaking King George winner Enable over a mile and half, adding: "She's exceptional and the best mile and a half horse I've ever trained in my life and ever will, and he's the best Cup horse.

"I'd say, if you got to a soft (ground) Arc, she'd go better than him but I think he'd give her a race."

Then came the question to his rider on where his loyalty would rest come ParisLongchamp in October. Gosden said he would not be interfering and, careful not to upset either set of connections, Dettori added: "I'm not going to try and put Bjorn off, if he wants to, why not? I'm on Enable at the moment but who knows? 

"There's the possibility that the ground becomes very soft which he doesn't mind. He could possibly be her biggest threat."

What lies beyond the Arc could also be fascinating, with Nielsen already considering running at 7, with one race and one race only in his thoughts.

"If he goes to stud (at the end of the season) he goes to stud but I know Mr. Nielsen is looking at one race next year," Gosden revealed.

"The Gold Cup is exactly what he'd be looking at. You can run a mile and a half and then go two and a half because he's versatile. With the year we've had with this sinister disease, it's nice to have old friends like him and Enable around."

Stradivarius Owner Warns British Racing Could Lose Support Over Prize Money 

Bjorn Nielsen, the owner-breeder of Stradivarius, has criticized the level of prize-money in British racing and warned fellow owners would leave the sport as a result.

While acknowledging the financial difficulties racing faced because of the pandemic, Nielsen pointed to deeper issues within the sport.

Stradivarius competed for a share of £250,000 in Tuesday's Qatar Goodwood Cup, half the amount when he won the race for the third time last year. 

Nielsen said such reductions, caused by the pandemic, had only amplified the gulf in prize-money on offer between Britain and other countries.

Speaking after Stradivarius had won a record-breaking fourth Goodwood Cup, he said: "Nobody has found an answer in 50 years, but the COVID-19 crisis has just brought this thing to the fore. Owners are losing fortunes. And I think you will see quite a lot of owners leave the game. 

"I don't have a whole lot of horses but paying all the fees you don't make money. It's frightening that you can have a (Ascot) Gold Cup winner and you might lose money in a year. Something needs to happen.

Nielsen promised he would be staying in the sport but said: "Obviously we need to win prize-money to pay the bills and it's a very difficult thing to do in England compared to Australia, France, and the U.S. The prize-money is quite poor in this country, with the COVID-19 crisis halving it or more in all the big races.

"I think it's very difficult for a lot of owners, more so than it ever was before, as the prize-money levels are so poor. You're probably going to see some people leave the game this year. Some (more) trainers probably will too.

"It's a difficult game to make it pay at the best times, let alone now. That's the same as a lot of other industries who are struggling. Everyone is having a hard time and a lot of people have lost jobs. So we're not alone."

The Racehorse Owners Association has accused racecourses of "losing sight of the sport's participants" over the cessation of racecourse executive contributions to prize-money in light of the pandemic, which resulted in a shutdown of the sport and then racing behind closed doors.

On solutions, Nielsen, speaking on Radio 4, added: "It's always darkest before it's light. You always get crisis before you get change. I like to think whatever happens, at the end of the day prize-money levels will be negotiated and one would hope there is going to be some improvement, some catch-up with other countries.

"Sponsorship is part of it. There is TV rights money, which is a bone of contention right now between horsemen and racecourses. And there is the betting levy. There are a number of factors.

"On Saturday they are having the first small crowd at a race meeting in this country, with 5,000 members of Goodwood allowed in. With this COVID-19 crisis nobody really knows where it's going. Everything has to be step by step and when there are flare-ups I'm sure there will be further restrictions. 

"That's just the way it has to be before hopefully one day we get back to having full racecourses and football stadiums. Hopefully that comes at some stage in the next year. I guess there will have to be a vaccine or something before that really happens."