By Tom Frary
Frankie Dettori marked the end of his brief sabbatical from the Gosdens with a win on the 11-10 favourite Mighty Ulysses (GB) (Ulysses {Ire}) in Thursday's Listed Edmondson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil S. at Newmarket. A close-up fifth in the G1 St James's Palace S. at Royal Ascot, Saeed Suhail's progressive bay was keen on the front end throughout the early stages but had enough in reserve to take control inside the final furlong and beat Alflaila (GB) (Dark Angel {Ire}) by 1 1/2 lengths. It is clear that John Gosden believes he has a genuine group 1 horse on his hands. “Coming from so wide in the St James's Palace, his run just petered out the last 40 or 50 yards after he had come to win it,” he said. “He will stay at this trip now and there is a three-year-old only group three [the Thoroughbred S.] to look at. That would be a logical place to go.”
Frankie Dettori 🤝 John and Thady Gosden
The band is back together and with a winner as Mighty Ulysses prevails in the Listed Sir Henry Cecil Stakes at @NewmarketRace pic.twitter.com/exx6yFZtIc
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 7, 2022
Mighty Ulysses's road to Royal Ascot was unorthodox, with a fifth in Epsom's 10-furlong Listed Blue Riband Trial Apr. 19 followed by an impressive novice win over this trip on the Rowley Mile here May 13 and a second in Haydock's Silver Bowl H. May 21. Nonetheless, collated time performances suggested he was a valid contender in the St James's Palace and he proved it by ending up less than a length off Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) having endured a less favourable trip than that peer in the June 14 feature. “It was a bit of a mess-up, as he is a horse that likes a lead,” Dettori said of his . “I found myself in front and I knew it was going to be a sprint, but he managed to get me out of trouble. It went completely the opposite to how I wanted, but he is a talented horse that has got a nice future. He has never had a proper run at it. He will be an interesting horse for next year.”
The listed-winning dam, who has a yearling filly by Lope de Vega (Ire) and a foal full-brother to the winner, hails from the Hascombe and Valiant Studs family of the G1 Coronation S. heroine Rebecca Sharp (GB) (Machiavellian) and this stable's Derby, Eclipse, Irish Champion S. and Arc-winning sensation Golden Horn (GB).
EDMONDSON HALL SOLICITORS SIR HENRY CECIL S.-Listed, £52,000, Newmarket, 7-7, 3yo, 8fT, 1:37.46, g/f.
1–MIGHTY ULYSSES (GB), 131, c, 3, by Ulysses (Ire)
1st Dam: Token of Love (GB) (SW-Eng, $130,292), by Cape Cross (Ire)
2nd Dam: Nyarhini (GB), by Fantastic Light
3rd Dam: Nuryana (GB), by Nureyev
1ST BLACK TYPE WIN. (170,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Saeed Suhail; B-Hascombe & Valiant Stud Ltd (GB); T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Frankie Dettori. £29,489. Lifetime Record: 6-3-1-0, $97,828.
2–Alflaila (GB), 131, c, 3, Dark Angel (Ire)–Adhwaa (GB), by Oasis Dream (GB).
1ST BLACK TYPE. O/B-Shadwell Estate Company Limited (GB); T-Owen Burrows. £11,180.
3–Berkshire Shadow (GB), 131, c, 3, Dark Angel (Ire)–Angel Vision (Ire), by Oasis Dream (GB). (40,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Berkshire Parts & Panels Ltd No1 Fanclub; B-Cheveley Park Stud Limited (GB); T-Andrew Balding. £5,595.
Margins: 1HF, HF, 1HF. Odds: 1.10, 12.00, 4.00.
Also Ran: Monaadah, The Acropolis (Ire), Kingmax (Ire), Dawn of Liberation (Ire), Albahr (GB).
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