By Tom Frary
Backing up successfully a week after his win in Newbury's Listed Carnarvon Stakes, Godolphin's Symbol Of Honour showed courage as well as class to earn a narrow verdict in Saturday's G2 Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock. Anchored in rear early by William Buick, the 2-1 favourite was moved through to challenge Arabian Dusk inside the final half a furlong and mastered that Havana Grey filly close home for a short-head success.
Gelded already, Symbol Of Honour cannot go to the G1 Commonwealth Cup as is customary for the winner of this. Instead, he is due a short holiday according to Charlie Appleby. “We will give Symbol Of Honour a bit of a break now and look to step him up to Group 1 company over the summer,” he said. “Ultimately, we are working backwards from Dubai again and hopefully a tilt at next year's Al Quoz Sprint.”
After a mixed juvenile campaign, Symbol Of Honour had beaten the subsequent G2 Blue Point Sprint and G3 Nad Al Sheba Turf Sprint winner West Acre in Meydan's Al Wasl Stakes in January before doubling up in the Dubai Trophy the following month prior to heading back to Newmarket. Tried over seven when sixth behind Cosmic Year in the Listed King Charles II Stakes, the grey returned to this trip to master Ides Of March in the Carnarvon and was making it four-from-four at the trip since his gelding op.
Pedigree Notes
Symbol Of Honour's dam Arcamist's first foal was Cable Bay's high-class sprinter Dragon Symbol who was disqualified from first in the G1 Commonwealth Cup and finished runner-up in the G1 July Cup and third in the G1 Nunthorpe Stakes. The second dam is the G1 Prix Saint-Alary third Good Enough, whose progeny include two Listed winners and the dam of a quartet of black-type performers including the Listed winner and dual Group 3-placed Laugh A Minute by Mayson. The dam's unraced 2-year-old son of Kingman named Firewalker was a 360,000gns purchase by Amo Racing at the Tattersalls December Foal Sale.
Saturday, Haydock, Britain
BETFRED SANDY LANE STAKES-G2, £125,000, Haydock, 5-24, 3yo, 6fT, 1:12.18, gd.
1–SYMBOL OF HONOUR (GB), 128, g, 3, by Havana Grey (GB)
1st Dam: Arcamist (GB), by Arcano (Ire)
2nd Dam: Good Enough (Fr), by Mukaddamah
3rd Dam: Viceroy Princess, by Godswalk
1ST GROUP WIN. (250,000gns Wlg '22 TADEWE; 600,000gns
Ylg '23 TATOCT). O-Godolphin; B-Whitsbury Manor Stud;
T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £70,888. Lifetime Record:
10-5-1-0, $284,507. *1/2 to Dragon Symbol (GB) (Cable Bay
{Ire}), MG1SP-Eng, $538,828. Werk Nick Rating: A+++. *Triple
Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the
free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Arabian Dusk (GB), 125, f, 3, Havana Grey (GB)–Lady
Macduff (Ire), by Iffraaj (GB). (80,000gns Ylg '23 TATSOM;
525,000gns 2yo '24 TATBRE). O-Shaikh Duaij Al Khalifa;
B-Whitsbury Manor Stud; T-Simon & Ed Crisford. £26,875.
3–First Instinct (GB), 125, f, 3, Bated Breath (GB)–Proportional
(GB), by Beat Hollow (GB). 1ST GROUP BLACK TYPE.
O/B-Dunchurch Lodge Stud Company; T-William Haggas.
£13,450.
Margins: SHD, 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 2.00, 18.00, 11.00.
Also Ran: Big Mojo (Ire), Ain't Nobody (Ire), Arizona Blaze (GB), Candy (GB), Powerful Glory (Ire), Kullazain (GB). Scratched: Dash Dizzy (Ire).
Symbol Of Honour backs up his Newbury victory just 7 days ago with success @haydockraces. The @godolphin raider is now 7/1 (from 10s) for the July Cup @newmarketrace and 8/1 Wokingham @ascot pic.twitter.com/4J3DVO9wSV
— Unibet Racing (@UnibetRacing) May 24, 2025
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