Qatar Sussex Stakes (Group 1)

THE Coronation Stakes heroine Alcohol Free produced a sparkling display to win the Group 1 Sussex Stakes on day two of the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

Oisin Murphy had some anxious moments as the Andrew Balding-trained filly was forced wide by the attentions of Tilsit, forcing Murphy to take back in the field.

It’s a credit to both jockey and horse that Plan B was enacted without drama, and having settled better behind runners, Murphy produced her with a strong run down the centre, tackling favourite Poetic Flare (Jim Bolger/Kevin Manning) at the furlong pole and powering away from the 2000 Guineas and St James’s Palace Stakes winner to score by a length and three-quarters.

Falmouth Stakes heroine Snow Lantern was the same distance away having had a troubled passage, and her late effort produced a one-two-three for the three-year-olds.

Winning owner Jeff Smith has enjoyed some wonderful moments at this meeting, with such crowd favourites as Chief Singer, Lochsong and Persian Punch, and this second win in the Sussex Stakes was coming 37 years after Chief Singer had beaten Rousillon in one of the most memorable and controversial runnings of the race.

Andrew Balding paid tribute to his remarkable filly, saying: “Oisin was at pains to try and tuck in and get some cover because she’s so much better when you are able to do that and she has got something to aim at. Poetic Flare is a very good horse, but she did it well in the end.

Best horse

“I am sure she was the best horse on the day. It was lovely to see her do that because we have always believed in her. It is no easy task taking on the colts and older horses, and to do it in that style was just fantastic.”

“It is a privilege watching her at home in the mornings. Watching her work is demoralising for the other horses; we have to keep swapping the lead horse because she is just so good. You see her afterwards and she is hardly blowing – it is effortless really.

“It was Jeff’s idea to put her in the International at York and we decided to keep her in at yesterday’s forfeit stage. It might be asking a bit much, going a mile and a quarter, but she’s a filly that has won three Group 1 races, so we have very little to lose. If it doesn’t work, we’ll regroup and go back to the mile race on Champions Day.”

Oisin Murphy was sanguine about the forced change in tactics. “I knew James Doyle would go forward on Century Dream but on his own terms and in his own rhythm,” he said.

“I knew Tilsit and Alcohol Free would fight for the same position. I was never going to win that battle and was happy to come back and trust that Kieran would move at the right time and that I would be able to get out and slip into the race.”

Una Manning, representing Jim Bolger, said of Poetic Flare: “Kevin said the ground just blunted his speed, and I would say the wind drying it out has just made the ground tacky. Poetic Flare has lost nothing in defeat. He loves his racing, loves his work.

“He’s an easy horse to deal with and to travel. Bringing him over here wasn’t going to be any sort of disadvantage to him even if the ground didn’t turn out like he wanted.”