Sea the Stars' Stradivarius Has the Answers In the Gold Cup

Stradivarius and Frankie Dettori | racingfotos.com

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Thursday's G1 Ascot Gold Cup was mostly talked of as a match between Order of St George (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Stradivarius (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}), but the 2016 winner and 2017 runner-up could manage only fourth this time while Bjorn Nielsen's 4-year-old excelled in a fight with Vazirabad (Fr) (Manduro {Ger}). Successful in the G2 Queen's Vase at this meeting 12 months ago, the chestnut who was the 7-4 joint-favourite alongside the Ballydoyle stalwart was kept back in fourth off the moderate early pace by Frankie Dettori. Angled out to grab the lead with a furlong remaining, he had Vazirabad to deal with from there but saw out the two and a half miles thoroughly to score by 3/4 of a length, with a head back to Torcedor (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in third and Order of St George a further three lengths away. “It went perfectly–it was a great race and we had to fight for it, but he was very brave and did all the running for me,” Dettori commented as he savoured a 60th Royal Ascot winner and a sixth win in the Gold Cup which lived up to all expectations. “The crowd were behind it and I was loving it. Full credit to the horse, he was brave as a lion. Sometimes a race looks a great match on paper, but this turned out to be a great renewal. I come alive here–I love it! The Gold Cup is the showcase of the week and to do it for the John Gosden team is amazing–they are all my friends.”

Stradivarius's success means that he is a potential winner of the WH Stayers' Million in its inaugural year, having captured the 14-furlong G2 Yorkshire Cup May 18. He only has to repeat his win in the July 31 G2 Goodwood Cup and then take the Aug. 24 G2 Lonsdale Cup back at York to provide his owner-breeder with the ultimate reward for his devotion to concentrating on staying types. This colt's early period featured a maiden win on Newcastle's Tapeta as a juvenile and he is yet another Royal Ascot winner to have previously scored on an all-weather surface. Second in a Chester handicap last May before coming to the fore in the Queen's Vase, his acceleration up the ranks was marked thereafter as he beat the Gold Cup hero Big Orange (GB) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) in receipt of 13 pounds weight-for-age in the Goodwood Cup before running third in the G1 St Leger at Doncaster in September. Admirable when third again behind Order of St George and Torcedor on soft ground which played against him and into the hands of that duo in the two-mile G2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, he had danced through the Yorkshire Cup on his return to set up this tilt.

As he had in the Goodwood Cup, Stradivarius was a touch keen throughout the early stages with Mount Moriah (GB) (Mount Nelson {GB}) left in charge of pace-setting duties and Torcedor and Order of St George in second and third. With Ryan Moore keen to lift the tempo in the back straight as Johnny Murtagh used to on Yeats (Ire), he had to angle three-wide to do so but the response was laboured which was perhaps predictable given how mulish he had been going down to the start. Frankie was tracking his every move while Christophe Soumillon was on his mount's tail and Torcedor was refusing to give in up ahead, so the first of the main protagonists to crack was Order of St George as he was squeezed out at the furlong pole. Once in front, Stradivarius kept rolling to deny the French raider who brought further international credibility to this vintage renewal.

John Gosden, who was winning this for the first time, said, “It was an extraordinary race. Frankie said they didn't go that quick and his heels were definitely down early on, which meant the horse was taking him on. As usual, Mr Soumillon was waiting like all good Frenchman to pounce late and frustrate us and it was a fascinating tactical race, because if Frankie had gone too soon there was the danger that Vazirabad would nail him. It was a proper finish and look at the line-up as they headed to the line. This little fellow stuck his neck out and on this ground he can flick off it. He's a gorgeous little staying horse that we call Mighty Mouse because he's not very big–he looks a bit like a mini Trigger with his four white feet, but he's done it really, really well. He'll go for the Goodwood Cup next.”

Trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre finally got His Highness The Aga Khan's leading French stayer to this race only to be undone by the new class act on the scene, but he took defeat with grace despite casting doubt on his charge's winning attitude. “When Vazirabad got to the front, he stopped. He doesn't like to be in front too long,” he explained. “He was touched two or three times by the winner and after that, he refused to give the maximum. He can have a long career as he only does the minimum. Christophe rode him well and he couldn't have waited any longer. We might look at something like the Goodwood Cup and the group 1s in France at the end of the season.” Jessie Harrington said of the G3 Sagaro S. winner Torcedor, who ran another solid race here, “He saw the trip out very well today and kept on finding all the way to the line. He goes on that ground, but on soft ground he probably goes on it better than other horses. He goes just as well as other horses on fast ground, but I think he does like softer conditions. It was a great performance and hopefully we'll bring him back again next year.” Derrick Smith, part-owner of Order of St George, commented, “We are happy enough. He just didn't pick up when Ryan wanted him to.”

The product of a labour of love in breeding by Bjorn Nielsen, Stradivarius was rolling back the years for his family at the track at which his brilliant third dam Pawneese (Ire) captured the 1976 King George. The last foal out of the dual listed-placed Private Life (Fr) (Bering {GB}), who was purchased for 70,000gns at the 2006 Tattersalls December Mares Sale, he is therefore a half-brother to four black-type performers including the G3 Bavarian Classic and G3 Furstenberg-Rennen-winning German highweight Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}). This dynasty also features the G1 Melbourne Cup hero Protectionist (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) who also captured the G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin and, further back, the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and G1 Prix du Jockey Club hero and leading sire Peintre Celebre (Nureyev).

Thursday, Royal Ascot, Britain
GOLD CUP-G1, £500,000, Ascot, 6-21, 4yo/up, 19f 210yT, 4:21.08, g/f.
1–STRADIVARIUS (IRE), 127, c, 4, by Sea the Stars (Ire)
1st Dam: Private Life (Fr) (MSP-Fr), by Bering (GB)
2nd Dam: Poughkeepsie (Ire), by Sadler's Wells
3rd Dam: Pawneese (Ire), by Carvin II
(330,000gns RNA Ylg '15 TATOCT). O/B-Bjorn Nielsen (IRE); T-John Gosden; J-Lanfranco Dettori. £283,550. Lifetime Record: 11-6-1-2, $1,191,172. *1/2 to Persian Storm (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}), Hwt. 3yo-Ger at 9.5-11f & MGSW-Ger, $121,198; Rembrandt Van Rijn (Ire) (Peintre Celebre), GSP-Eng, $167,081; and Magical Eve (Ger) (Oratorio {Ire}), SP-SAf. Werk Nick Rating: A+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.[bullet ad=”hugo-merry-jane-allison-broken-pre-trained”]2–Vazirabad (Fr), 128, g, 6, Manduro (Ger)–Visorama (Ire), by Linamix (Fr). O-H H The Aga Khan; B-H H The Aga Khan's Studs SC (FR); T-Alain de Royer-Dupre. £107,500.
3–Torcedor (Ire), 128, g, 6, Fastnet Rock (Aus)–Magnolia Lane (Ire), by Sadler's Wells. (€70,000 Ylg '13 ARAUG). O-Te Akau Torcedor (Mngr: David Ellis); B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Jessica Harrington. £53,800.
Margins: 3/4, HD, 3. Odds: 1.75, 4.50, 14.00.
Also Ran: Order of St George (Ire), Scotland (Ger), Sheikhzayedroad (GB), Max Dynamite (Fr), Mount Moriah (GB), Desert Skyline (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.

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