THE result that the huge Knavesmire crowd desired duly came to pass as Stradivarius, resilient as they come, landed the Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup. With this latest success he earned owner Bjorn Neilsen the £1 million bonus, put up by yesterday’s sponsors, for completing a four-timer comprising the Yorkshire Cup, the Ascot Gold Cup, the Goodwood Cup and the Lonsdale, a magnificent achievement which may not be equalled for a very long time.

Sent off at 4/11, Stradivarius raced in fifth for much of the way as Petitioner went into an early lead from Count Octave with Idaho third and Max Dynamite fourth. As usual, Frankie Dettori was in no hurry in the straight but there was a moment’s worry for the favourite’s supporters as Count Octave kicked on and went a couple of lengths clear. As in the Yorkshire Cup, Dettori came to the stands’ rails but the response was not immediate. Then, as at Goodwood, Stradivarius suddenly found another surge and kept on strongly to score by a length and a half. Idaho was well held in third but ran his best race for some time.

WINNING TRAINER

“A lot of the credit must go to the owner, who spends so much time on pedigrees,” smiled winning trainer John Gosden. “Then, after all that, he ends up with a Cup horse! Stradivarius is a big, strapping horse with a lot of class. He wasn’t sparkling today but there was no great pace on and Frankie had to come to the stands’ rails because his first run was blocked. We always thought the million-pound bonus was a great initiative and we wanted to support it.”

As far as the future is concerned, Stradivarius may well be back with a similar programme in mind next year. Neilsen believes he may have done very nearly enough this time around.

“I’ve no mind to go down to Australia, which would involve wear and tear”, he said. “As far as the Cadran is concerned, I’d say it’s unlikely. Maybe we’ll wait for Vazirabad to retire! No, seriously, I think Stradivarius will either be put away now or we’ll go to Ascot for the Long Distance Cup.”

Count Octave deserves credit for a brave try under another very smart ride by Oisin Murphy and one of these big staying races should come his way.