Qatar Goodwood Cup

(Group 1)

HE’S well named, is Bjorn Neilsen’s Stradivarius, as he always produces a good tune, and once again delivered the goods as he landed his third consecutive win in the Goodwood Cup.

A neck win over the plugging-on Dee Ex Bee (Mark Johnston/Silvester de Sousa) disguises his superiority on the day, with Frankie Dettori’s slightly premature celebration allowing the runner-up to get close at the line despite never threatening to get past the brilliant winner, with Cross Counter (Charlie Appleby/James Doyle) a length back in third.

Wells Farhh Go set a pace which was much too strong in the first part of the race, and he can be forgiven for dropping right away, but the Aidan O’Brien trio were all a bit disappointing, Southern France faring best in fourth, nine lengths behind the winner.

“He’s a push-button ride, a stayer with a turn of foot who follows any pace and has everything covered,” said Dettori of John Gosden’s five-year-old entire.

“He’s an amazing horse who wastes very little energy, is mentally tough and is never going to be flash and win by 10 lengths, but he gets the job done. All I have to do is put him in the race and he does the rest. He’s a perfect partner.

“It’s important for the public to have a horse who stays in training for so long and keeps delivering and with Stradivarius you know what you are going to get – a fight. Which is why people love him.”

As with Gosden’s other outstanding champion Enable, Stradivarius’s greatness lies in his list of achievements rather than in his peak performance rating, which arguably came when beating Vazirabad in the Gold Cup in Ascot last June.

Complete performer

Few would argue that he’s not a more complete performer now, but as his rider intimates, he’s not inclined to exert himself when in front, and his margin of victory has been one and a half lengths or less in nine of his 12 career wins.

It is not therefore his performance ratings (his rating is that of an average Group 1 winner according to Timeform’s scale) which will define him to future generations, but the roll-call of big-race wins, and that list is set to get longer, with the son of Sea The Stars set to reprise last year’s Weatherby’s Hamilton Stayers’ Million success, the Lonsdale Cup at York likely to be a penalty kick, with his owner stating that there are no firm plans to retire him at the end of the season.

He was emulating Double Trigger in landing this for the third time, but the race was granted Group 1 status only in 2017, which sets him apart from that doughty stayer.

Gosden paid tribute to the winner afterwards, saying: “Stradivarius is a little street fighter and he just puts it in when he has to. That is the great thing about this horse – Stradivarius knows how to win.

“We never overwork him at home and always let him do what he enjoys doing. He is just a grand horse and it is wonderful to have a horse like him win three Goodwood Cups.”