Solow Aims to Keep Win Streak Alive in Sussex
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Alain and Gerard Wertheimer's Solow takes his seven-race winning streak to the Glorious Goodwood meet, where he is set to meet seven opponents in the Qatar Sussex Stakes (Eng-I) July 29.
The winner of the mile race will receive an automatic berth into the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile (gr. IT) Oct. 31 at Keeneland through the international Breeders' Cup Challenge series.
Five-year-old Solow, the pre-race favorite, is trained by Freddie Head, who sent out Goldikova to three consecutive wins in the Breeders' Cup Mile (2008, 2009, and 2010) for the Wertheimers. A former French champion jockey, Head rode Miesque to victory in the 1987 and 1988 editions of the Mile. He has Solow, a gray son of Singspiel, ready for action following last month's victory in the Queen Anne Stakes (Eng-I) at Royal Ascot.
"Solow is in really good form and the Qatar Sussex Stakes has been the plan for him ever since he won the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot," Head recently told the International Racing Bureau. "He is a very sound horse who takes his races well. He does not require much work and is easy to train."
The Queen Anne was Solow's third straight group I win in this year. Solow captured the 1 1/8-mile Dubai Turf (UAE-I) by 4 1/2 lengths over The Grey Gatsby at Meydan and followed up by taking the Prix d'Ispahan (Fr-I) at about the same distance May 24 at Longchamp. Maxime Guyon will ride Solow as he has done in all four starts this year.
Godolphin's Night of Thunder finished five lengths behind Solow in the Queen Anne. Last year's Two Thousand Guineas (Eng-I) winner, trained by Richard Hannon, won the group one Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes (Eng-I) by a neck at Newbury May 16 in his first start of 2015. The 4-year-old son of Dubawi has won four times from 10 starts and will be ridden by James Doyle.
Breaking from the inside post will be Qatar Racing's Arod, who comes into the Sussex off back-to-back victories in Epsom's Investec Diomed Stakes (Eng-III) June 5 and Summer Stakes (Eng-II) at Ascot July 11. The 4-year-old son of Tefolio, trained by Peter Chapple-Hyam, finished a length behind Night of Thunder in his third-place performance in the Lockinge Stakes.
There are a pair of 3-year-olds entered in the Sussex: Belardo (Lope de Vega), winner of last year's Dubai Dewhurst Stakes (Eng-I) and fourth in the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (Ire-I) last time out for trainer Roger Varian, and Bossy Guest (Medicean), third in the Jersey Stakes (Eng-I) at Royal Ascot for Mick Channon after a fourth in the Two Thousand Guineas at Newmarket.
Aidan O'Brien has won the Sussex Stakes four times in the last 15 years. He is represented by 4-year-old Cougar Mountain (Fastnet Rock), who finished third in the Queen Anne and fourth in the Coral Eclipse Stakes at Sandown July 4.
Rounding out the field are English and German group II winner Here Comes When (Danehill Dancer), trained by Andrew Balding, and stakes winner Gabrial (Dark Angel), who has placed in more than dozen other stakes for trainer Richard Fahey.