| 6.7°C Dublin

Gosden hoping Stradivarius will be in tune for return

John Gosden Expand
John Gosden

Thomas Kelly

Staying king Stradivarius starts on the road to a possible fourth successive Ascot Gold Cup today when he makes his seasonal debut in the Longines Sagaro Stakes.

John Gosden, who trains the horse with his son Thady, reports Stradivarius to be in good form but expects him to come on a lot for his comeback outing.

The seven-year-old has to recover from disappointing showings in his last two starts of 2020, although both were run on unsuitable ground.

Stradivarius had been his brilliant self before then, winning a third Gold Cup by 10 lengths and picking up a fourth Goodwood Cup in a row. He also warmed up for a crack at the Prix de l’Arc with a good second to Anthony Van Dyck in the Prix Foy at Longchamp.

Read More

“He’s ready for a return. Obviously the last two races were both run in exceptionally heavy ground. He wasn’t in love with it. There was no pace in the Arc, then they sprinted,” said Gosden.

“He ran very well in the Prix Foy and did nothing wrong before that.

“He’s a seven-year-old full horse now, so to that extent age is becoming a bit of issue – maybe less so if he was a gelding, but he’s a full horse.

“But he seems happy in himself and is his usually vociferous self, so we’re looking forward to running him. He likes Ascot, obviously, and I feel the trip is right to start him off at two miles.

“We’ll see how he runs. He’s bigger, he’s a seven-year-old and he’s weighing heavier – so to that extent he may need two races before the Gold Cup. We don’t know.”

Nayef Road won this race last year when it was run at Newcastle, but he then had to play second fiddle to Stradivarius at Royal Ascot and Goodwood.

The Mark Johnston-trained entire is having his first race since finishing third in the Lonsdale Cup at York in August. “If Stradivarius comes back in the same form as last year then he’ll be extremely difficult to beat,” said the Middleham handler.

“We’ve run some very good horses against Stradivarius and come second. That said, we’ve got a much stronger team this year and it’s going to be very interesting to see.

“I’d say to beat Subjectivist and Sir Ron Priestley (this season), Stradivarius is going to have to be absolutely at his best. So, if nothing else we’re going to see if that’s the case.

“Nayef Road is fine. He did have a setback at the end of last season but he seems to have got over it well, and he’s ready to run.”

The Halfway Line Newsletter

A weekly update from our soccer correspondent Daniel McDonnell along with the best writing from our expert team. Issued every Friday.

This field is required

Read More

Irish Independent

Most Watched

Privacy