‘CLASS’ Frankie Dettori could be set for an incredible fairytale return for super stayer Stradivarius’ farewell at York.
Owner Bjorn Nielsen says his star will race on after a superb effort when just held by Kyprios in the Goodwood Cup.
Frankie, who was jocked off the John Gosden’s eight-year-old after a fractious defeat at Royal Ascot, wished Andrea Atzeni all the best before the race and Nielsen said: “Frankie has handled Stradivarius well at York. I will discuss things with John and Thady.
“Frankie was class to come out and say good luck to Andrea beforehand after all these years.
“There’s a good chance Stradivarius will go to York. He ran a brilliant race.”
Atzeni said: “Strad ran his heart out.
“He felt great and ran all the way to the line, the champion he is.”
The rematch between Kyprios and Stradivarius was everything we could have hoped for – and more.
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The old king Strad was carried out of Sussex on his shield, having forced the young pretender to fight for every inch of Goodwood turf.
No doubt about it, Aidan O’Brien’s four-year-old is now the alpha male among the stayers – but try telling that to Stradivarius.
In Flat racehorse terms he is old enough to qualify for a free bus pass, but he still was bucking and squealing and ready for round three just moments after pulling up.
His fans will get their wish, with owner Bjorn Nielsen confirming after the race: “We are going to race on.”
STRAD FOR MORE
That will have no doubt irritated the bean counters at Great British Racing and Goodwood. They rolled out the red carpet for Stradivarius for what was billed as his final start.
Black and yellow flags were handed out to fans and a huge, Hollywood-style ‘Thank You Stradivarius’ sign was perched on the hillside opposite the finishing line. It was a fitting tribute to a horse who has been pure Box Office for the past five years.
But there will be at least one more instalment in the hit series, which in truth has become more of a soap opera in recent weeks.
There was a very public falling out between Nielsen, John Gosden and Frankie Dettori after Strad’s close third behind Kyprios in the Gold Cup.
Trainer and jockey split for two-week ‘sabbatical’ and the Italian was dumped by a bitter Nielsen.
It will have hard fro Frankie to see Andrea Atzeni get the leg up in his place but he was brilliant before the race and cracking jokes with Atzeni and boss John Gosden to ease the tension. That went down well with Nielsen who called Frankie ‘class’.
Drama seems to follow Strad wherever he goes, so it was only fitting that the Goodwood Cup itself had multiple twists and turns.
Atzeni was over the moon with his early position on Stradivarius, while Hollie Doyle and Trueshan were having their own little game of hokey-cokey.
GOODWOOD CUP THRILLER
One minute they were on the inside, the next they were on the outer, all the while Ryan Moore had the favourite Kyprios in the box-seat behind the leaders.
Trueshan looked to get unbalanced coming around the top bend and Doyle shook the reins to try and get him on an even keel.
But she unintentionally set him alight as a result, and as he took off half a mile from home the complexion of the race changed.
He may have briefly nosed ahead, but Kyprios fought him off and had enough in reserve to edge out Stradivarius, who made relentless progress on his lonesome on the far side of the track.
Gosden said: “It was superb. The horse was in good form before. He came back in here shouting at Trueshan, so the race didn’t stress him too much. We had a lovely position on the inside following Kyprios and then Hollie thought the pace wasn’t quick enough, so she moved and we went from the outside to the inside.
“Our only slight frustration is that, because of that, we had to go down the cutaway, were racing on our own and had nothing left to race with.
“Stradivarius is a wise old owl now and he knows when he gets to the front that he has done his bit. At his age, he likes something to run with.
“He’s the most cheerful horse every morning. He comes out playing and shouting, he is a great character.
YORK NEXT
“He is still full of the joys of spring which is a great sight. If Bjorn says he is racing on, I suggest it will be York next for the Lonsdale Cup.”
All the attention post-race was on Stradivarius, but let’s give the winner his due. Kyprios has quickly established himself as an elite two-miler, and there could be any amount of improvement in the locker after just eight starts.
O’Brien, who showed more emotion watching the finish of this than for many of his bigger wins, said: “I’d say there is more to come from him. He loves his racing and he is easy on himself.
“He is a lovely horse, a total professional, and he has a lot of class. Even though he has won a Gold Cup over two and a half, we would have no problem dropping back to a mile and a half.
“He has a lot of pace but he will only show it if you really ask him. That was a great race between two top horses, it’s what we love about this game.”
Aidan, you can say that again.
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