Horse & Hound – 08 August 2019

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