Next week's G1 Qatar Sussex Stakes looks set to be the highlight of Glorious Goodwood, with a clash of the Guineas winners on the cards as Rosallion (Ire) (Blue Point {Ire}) clashes once more with Notable Speech (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}).
Rosallion, who was second to Notable Speech in the 2,000 Guineas and then won both the Irish 2,000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace Stakes, is currently the highest-rated miler in the world and is said by trainer Richard Hannon to be “peaking”. At Goodwood, he is also likely to have to take on his Royal Ascot runner-up Henry Longfellow (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire})once more along with some classy older horses including the G1 Dubai Turf winner Facteur Cheval (Fr) (Ribchester {Ire}).
Speaking at a stable visit organised by Goodwood Racecourse, Hannon said, “You always dream and hope that they are something that they are probably not, but this fella is probably everything you could ever dream of. My dad might disagree but I think Rosallion is the best miler we have had and certainly the best since Canford Cliffs. Time will tell whether he is better.
“Rosallion has won three Group 1s, including one as a two-year-old, and has got better with every run. He can sometimes be a little bit keen, but he has always been professional. He is in such good nick and has never been moving better. I think he is peaking. He has been a different horse since the 2,000 Guineas and he has turned from a boy to a man as the season has progressed.
“The Irish 2,000 Guineas was not run to suit him and that's maybe why he didn't have loads to spare, but he made up loads of ground and clocked 42mph at one stage. We might ride him a little closer to the pace at Goodwood.”
He continued, “There were three Guineas winners in the St James's Palace Stakes. For me it was a championship race. This time we are taking on older horses for the first time, so it is a new challenge. I am hoping the track at Goodwood won't be a problem. It is an unknown. The tracks he has run at – Ascot, Newbury, Doncaster, Longchamp, the Curragh – are flat. I am not sure he came down the hill that well at Newmarket, so it is a little bit of a worry.”
Hannon is nevertheless relishing the prospect of his stable star's return and said that he hopes Rosallion's owner-breeder, Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, might consider keeping him in training as a four-year-old.
“He has always been a bit special,” said Hannon, who also trained the top miler Night Of Thunder (Ire). “You can sometimes be guilty of describing horses how you hope they are rather than what they actually are. I feel this fella has now proved it. He has been massively important to us and the horse of my career so far. I have won Classics and Group 1s but this horse seems a little bit more.
“Maybe I didn't appreciate things early in my career as much as I should have. Then when you have a few years when you don't have really good horses, you really miss them. So when you get one again, you are not going to allow the moment to pass you by.
He added, “After this race, we might take in a Prix du Moulin and then put him away. Whether he stays in training next year is a decision for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid but I very much hope so.”
Hannon confirmed that Wathnan Racing's Haatem (Ire) (Phoenix Of Spain {Ire}), who was runner-up to Rosallion in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and then won the G3 Jersey Stakes, would head to France for his next run.
“Haatem will go for the Prix Jacques Le Marois,” he said. “He is reliable, sound and talented, and a Group 1 win will surely come his way soon. He has exceeded expectations and wears his heart on his sleeve.”
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