By Sean Cronin
Godolphin's G1 Gold Cup victor Trawlerman (Golden Horn), who has also picked up wins in this term's G3 Henry II Stakes and G2 Lonsdale Cup, sealed his status as the year's outstanding stayer with another defeat of his John and Thady Gosden-trained stablemate Sweet William (Sea The Stars), in race-record time, in Saturday's G1 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot.
“Trawlerman is a relentless galloper and I couldn't be more thrilled with him,” beamed John Gosden. “It is late in the year for him and he has been on the go for a long time. He probably idled a bit [in front], but the other horse [Sweet William] was running on, so it was a great performance from both of them. Sweet William has won the Doncaster Cup two years running and the crowd gave a hell of a roar when they saw the pink colours coming. There was a moment when I thought Sweet William might get it, and then didn't. They are two fabulous horses. We will put them away now, bring them out next year and get a run in before the Gold Cup. That would be the plan.”
The 5-6 favourite pick was sharply into stride and led passing the judge first time before accepting a tow in second once out in the country. Regaining control with a half-mile remaining, he kicked clear off the home turn and had enough in reserve as Sweet William threatened to spoil the party in the latter stages. Trawlerman hit the line with a 1 1/2-length advantage, with one dozen lengths back to Al Qareem (Awtaad) in third.
Winning jockey William Buick, who failed in his first three rides before notching four straight victories aboard the winner, said, “Trawlerman is the champion stayer and did what we expected of him. He is a superstar and I think he is a better horse than he was last year. I am delighted for him that he can cap his year off in such style. We always have a very open mind and the only thing we want is some pace. If there's not a good pace, he can make his own running. He goes out there, wears his heart on his sleeve and is a proper horse. He is a joy to ride.”
Karl Burke was delighted with the performance of Al Qareem and said, “He is a fantastic horse and he's within 10 lengths of the best two stayers in Europe. We were chancing our arm a bit and, with five runners, we've picked up nearly £60,000 again today. He's just an absolute star for the yard and I would say that will be it for him this year. He has had a hard campaign and we will give him a nice holiday now, then bring him back and hopefully do it all again next year.”
🏆 TRAWLERMAN WINS THE QIPCO BRITISH CHAMPIONS LONG DISTANCE CUP 🏆
WHAT A PERFORMANCE! @Champions_Day | @Ascot pic.twitter.com/for2dgsFEV
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) October 18, 2025
Pedigree Notes
Trawlerman is the leading performer from two scorers out of G3 Deutsches St Leger second Tidespring (Monsun), herself one of three black-type representatives for G1 Prix Vermeille heroine Sweet Stream (Shantou). Tidespring is kin to stakes-winning G3 Munster Oaks third Loveisthehigherlaw (Kodiac) and Listed Radley Stakes placegetter Sweet Dream (Oasis Dream). Sweet Stream is the leading performer out of the stakes-placed Snug Dinner (Jareer) while Sweet Dream produced G3 Prix Penelope victrix Making Dreams (Make Believe). Snug Dinner, the best daughter of the stakes-placed Stand By Me (Home Guard), is the second dam of Listed Premio Royal Mares victrix Testa O Croce (Orpen).
Saturday, Ascot, Britain
QIPCO BRITISH CHAMPIONS LONG DISTANCE CUP-G1, £531,250, Ascot, 10-18, 3yo/up, 15f 209yT, 3:22.29, gd.
1–TRAWLERMAN (IRE), 135, g, 7, by Golden Horn (GB)
1st Dam: Tidespring (Ire) (MGSP-Ger & SP-Fr), by Monsun (Ger)
2nd Dam: Sweet Stream (Ity), by Shantou
3rd Dam: Snug Dinner (Ire), by Jareer
O/B-Godolphin; T-John & Thady Gosden; J-William Buick. £301,272. Lifetime Record: GSP-UAE, 23-11-1-5, $2,423,138. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sweet William (Ire), 135, g, 6, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Gale Force (GB), by Shirocco (Ger). O/B-Normandie Stud Ltd; T-John & Thady Gosden. £114,219.
3–Al Qareem (Ire), 135, g, 6, Awtaad (Ire)–Moqla (GB), by Teofilo (Ire). (27,000gns 2yo '21 TATAHI). O-Nick Bradley Racing 33, Burke & Partner; B-Shadwell Estate Company Ltd; T-Karl Burke. £57,163.
Margins: 1HF, 12, 17. Odds: 0.83, 2.50, 7.00.
Also Ran: Stay True (Ire), Saratoga (Ire).
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