74 Horse& Hound8 August 2019
Pictures by Imago/PA Images and trevor-meeks-photography.co.uk
RACING
I THINKI havea love-hate
relationshipwithridingat
Goodwood.I loveit becauseit’s
a localtrackofmine—I grew
upinWestSussexandwas
goingtherefroma youngage—
butit canbea veryfrustrating
placeattimes.
I’vehadsomegoodmoments
atGoodwoodinthepast,
includingwinningtheLillie
LangtryStakesin 2015 aboard
SimpleVersebeforeshewenton
towintheStLeger.I’vehadsix
winnerstherethisseasonand
I washappytoputoneonthe
boardatthe“Glorious”meeting
andforJohnGosdenaswell.
However,I can’thelpbut
feelthattherewerea couple
ofnearmissesthatcouldhave
gonein,too.
ThenatureofGoodwoodis
thatthosethingsjusthappen
andtherewereprobablya few
jockeysoverthecourseofthe
weekwhofeltthesameasI did.
Youendupgettingcaughton
theraila lot,youcan’tgetout
whenyouwantandthenit can
becomequitefrustrating.
Sometimes,likeonForestOf
DeanintheUnibetHandicap,I
wentdownontherailandthat
is obviouslythetrickierroute.
If it paysoff, it reallydoespay
off, butatthesametimeit’s
veryeasytobecaughtintraffic,
notgeta runandcomeback
thinkingyoucouldhavewon.
I supposeit’soneofthose
placeswhereyoucouldn’tsay
thebesthorsealwayswins.At
thelikesofNewbury,Yorkor
Ascot—biggallopingtracks
witha longstraight—thebest
horsedoesusually come
homeahead.
A STUNNINGVIEW
ITis definitelyoneofthebest
tracksfora spectator.Firstly,
there’s the location and the
viewyougetovertheSouth
Downsis secondtonone.
There’snowhereelseI could
reallycompareit to.Youget
high-classracingandthere
is alwaysa goodatmosphere.
AlthoughI don’tevergoasa
spectator,youfeelthat they do
thingsproperly.
WINNERSWORTH
WATCHING
ONthetrack,I thought
Pinatubo,underJamesDoyle,
wasimpressiveintheQatar
VintageStakes.Charlie
Appleby’s two-year-old looks to
bethestand-outjuvenilesofar
thisseason,quickeningupwell
fromwhatlookeda qualityfield.
ThewinneroftheLillie
Langtry,theJohnGosden-
trainedfillyEnbihaar,looked
tobea GroupOnewinnerin
waiting,too.Andit wasgreatto
seea Japanese-trainedwinner
intheNassauStakes.
Thestrongpacehelpedthe
racepanoutforDeirdre,but
she’sstilla verygood mare.
CAUSINGA
TWITTERFRENZY
MYphonewentabsolutelymad
fora coupleofdaysaftera video
ofmekissingthehorsenextto
meinthestartingstallonthe
nosewentviralonTwitter—
unbeknowntomeuntilI had
finishedridingonFriday.
Itwasmyfirstoffiverides
thatdayandoneofthosespur-
of-the-momentthings.
Itwasn’tmyintentionto
causea socialmediastir.Don’t
askmewhyI didit,I justdid.
Itwasn’tmyintentionbutit’s
a positivespin,anddoesme—
and racing — no harm.H&H
HarryBentleyisa multiple
championjockeyinQatarand
wontheUnibetHandicapon
ForestOfDeanattheQatar
GoodwoodFestival.A clipofHarry
kissinga horseonthenoseinthe
neighbouringstartingstallaheadof
Friday’sOakTreeStakes went viral
across social media.
Glorious yet frustrating Goodwood
Harry Bentley on his track ventures and becoming a Twitter sensation
ONLY IN HORSE & HOUND
OPINION
BattaashsprintstothefinishunderJim
Crowleytobecomethefirsthorseto
win the King George Stakes three times
backfromJapanoftheregard
theyholdtheirhorsesinandit’s
fantastictheyhavewona Group
Onehere—shewasalreadya
GroupOnewinnerbutit’sgreatto
doit inBritain.
“I’dhavelikedtohavesata bit
closerbutcouldn’tgothepace.
TherewasnopressureandsoI
rode her as I felt from instinct,”
addedMurphy.“Itpaidoff,she
pickedupreallywell.She’sa
big,masculinemareandI’mnot
surprisedshewasabletocarry
60kg,whichis a lotmore than
she’dcarryathome.”
THREETIMESA WINNER
IFStradivariusbecameonlythe
second three-time winner of the
GoodwoodCuplastweek,thenat
theotherendofthedistancescale,
Battaashwentonebetter;he
becamethefirsthorsetowinthe
KingGeorgeStakesthreetimes.
Themercurialsprinterhas
onlyoncebeenunplaced,but
sometimesonecannothelp
thinkingheunderperformsat
other places. Having won a Prix
deL’Abbayebyfourlengths,
heshouldhavemorethanone
GroupOneinthebag—butat
Goodwood,heis theultimate
horseforthecourse.
TheAustralianmareHoutzen,
nowtrainedbyMartynMeade,
stayedonwellunderRyanMoore
togetwithinthree-quartersofa
length,butthewinningpairwere
clearoftheirrivals.
“We’veworkedouta good
routineforhimnowandwe’ll
lookforwardtoYork[wherehe
hasbeenbeatentwice]now,”
saidtrainerCharlieHills.“We’ve
gottogobecauseit’stheonly
five-furlongGroupOneleftinthe
country,andthere’snoreason
whyit shouldn’tsuithim.It
takesa lotofdoingtowina race
likethatthreetimes,buthewas
alwaysincommand.”
Thewinningjockey,Jim
Crowley,added:“He’sallspeed
—he’sthefastestfive-furlong
horsearoundandhedoesn’t
reallygetmuchfurther.If there
were4½-furlongracesaround,he
wouldbeunbelievable.”
AmongHills’fourGoodwood
winners,healsolandedthe
meeting’s other marquee sprint,
GOODWOOD
30 July-3 August