By Tom Frary
Ballydoyle's miracle horse Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) is back at the scene of one of his finest hours on Tuesday as he descends on the Sussex Downs for another tilt at the G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup. Denied a follow-up to his memorable 2022 success over Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) due to last year's potentially catastrophic injury, the Moyglare homebred announced his return from the brink and how with another dynamic display to win a second G1 Gold Cup at the Royal meeting last month.
It could be argued that whenever the 6-year-old has been at a peak and had his favoured fast ground that he has been untouchable and a sixth group 1 appears to beckon with no obvious up-and-comers here to challenge his hierarchy. “He's a very special horse with a lot more class than most people think,” Aidan O'Brien said. “He does stay, which is unusual, but he'd have no problem being a group horse over a mile and a quarter. As he goes up in distance, he just gets better.”
“Those good stayers are very rare. When you go to those distances, very few horses get them really but he has the class and gets the trip as well. Obviously we've been delighted to have him back this year, given what happened to him. Everything has gone smoothly since Ascot, we've been delighted. Hopefully he'll run well again.”
Re-opposing from Ascot is the third-placed Sweet William (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Coltrane (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}) who was fifth and the disappointing Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}) who was seventh. Normandie Stud's G3 Henry II Stakes winner Sweet William looks to be John and Thady Gosden's main hope, but they are ready to forgive last year's G2 Queen's Vase winner Gregory his tame effort in the Gold Cup.
“Gregory just wasn't right there and he wasn't right after the race,” John Gosden explained. “He'd worked well going into it, but he just didn't fire and that can happen.” Gregory's rider James Doyle added, “I'm sure it was his wellbeing rather than the trip, that was the problem there, but coming back to two miles wouldn't be a negative for him. We are on the comeback trail and he seems in good order.”
A Vintage Crew?
One of the Goodwood Festival's most appealing races for the Classic-watchers is the seven-furlong G2 HKJC World Pool Vintage Stakes and Ballydoyle have an intriguing runner in the race this year in The Parthenon (Ire) (Kingman {GB}). From the family of Galileo (Ire), he has missed two engagements since his Gowran Park maiden win in mid-June and has a similar profile to the stable's 2014 winner Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}).
“We've always thought plenty of The Parthenon,” Aidan O'Brien said. “He made his debut in the Marble Hill and ran well enough there and wasn't beaten far, especially given he was really green. He won his maiden the next time, but we were a little bit disappointed with him there to be honest, despite him winning, as we thought he'd win a bit easier than he did. Hopefully he'll run well, as he's a nice colt.”
Godolphin's G2 July Stakes third Aomori City (Fr) (Oasis Dream {GB}), John Wallinger's G2 Coventry Stakes fourth Cool Hoof Luke (GB) (Advertise {GB}) and Middleham Park Racing's G2 Prix Robert Papin fourth An Outlaw's Grace (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) bring solid pattern-race form to the table, while Fitri Hay's Wolf Of Badenoch (GB) (Pinatubo {Ire}) gave off intriguing vibes when winning on debut at Doncaster last month.
Is the Three-Peat on in the Lennox?
Goodwood also stages the G2 HKJC World Pool Lennox Stakes, where Marc Chan's Kinross (GB) (Kingman {GB}) bids for a third renewal of the seven-furlong contest coming off a below-par effort in the G1 July Cup. This is Ralph Beckett's veteran's bag and there is little evidence that his level has dropped notably. “We're excited to be going to Goodwood, a track that he loves–he probably should have won the race three times by now,” Chan's racing manager Jamie McCalmont said. “It would be an amazing achievement for any horse to win three races at Goodwood and I think just due to the fact he's getting older, he probably needs more than one race to get in tune.”
Wathnan Racing's English Oak (GB) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) is up in class having won Royal Ascot's Buckingham Palace Stakes with aplomb and the Ed Walker-trained 4-year-old could be one of this division's lurking improvers. “He's in cracking form and has not missed a beat since Ascot, so it will be interesting to see how he gets on,” his handler said. “He's got a lot to make up, as on official ratings he's the lowest-rated in the field and yet he's vying for favouritism, which on the numbers doesn't make a lot of sense. We're very happy with him, we've no worries with the ground and we've got a good draw–I think he'll run his race and I hope he gets a good trip round and then we'll find out how good he is.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
