Glorious Goodwood Day 1- Bluebloods, Bargains and Tragedy

Tara Madgwick - Wednesday July 30

The famed Glorious Goodwood meeting got underway overnight with three Group races contested that saw all of the favourites rolled with a new G1 winner for Justify, a first stakes-winner for a young Frankel sire son and a return to form for Golden Eagle winner Lake Forest.

The Group I Goodwood Cup (2m) had a short priced favourite in the Aidan O’Brien trained four year-old Galileo stallion Illinois and a crowd favourite runner in veteran stayer Trueshan, who won the race in 2021.

Advertisement

Tragically, Trueshan and his regular partner Hollie Doyle did not complete the course with the nine year-old gelding suffering a fatal injury which cast a long shadow over the day.

Victory in the race went to the Aidan O’Brien trained second string runner in three year-old Justify colt Scandinavia, who outgunned his older stablemate Illinois to win by three-quarters of a length under Wayne Lordan.

A last start Group III winner at Newmarket, Scandinavia has now won three of seven starts.

“Scandinavia looks a very classy stayer, he travelled very well through the race and Wayne [Lordan] gave him a beautiful ride,” said Aidan O’Brien.

“He was always a very smart horse. The lads actually backed him for the Derby very early in his career, he was considered a very good horse.

“He won his maiden over a mile and a quarter and Wayne was delighted with him at Ascot next time - he got trapped six wide but he still didn't lie down the whole way and came back at the line to try and win.

“He's a great stayer with a great mind, he's uncomplicated, and like we saw today he handled the ease in the ground well. You couldn't be more delighted with him really. You would imagine he looks a ready-made Leger horse.”

Pedigree

A homebred for the Coolmore partners, Scandinavia is a half-brother to Group I winner Above the Curve and is the second Group I winner among three winners from blueblood Galileo mare Fabulous, an unraced half-sister to champion racehorse and sire Giant’s Causeway.

Fabulous is also a half-sister to Group II winning blue hen You’resothrilling, the dam of Group I winners Gleneagles, Happily, Joan of Arc and Marvellous with the family also producing this year’s exciting Group winning juvenile Albert Einstein.

Scandinavia is the ninth Group I winner for Justify, who is available for Southern Hemisphere covers at Coolmore’s US base of Ashford Stud in Kentucky.

2024 Champion European 3YO Colt and Horse of the Year, City of Troy stands at a fee of $49,500, while Storm Boy is priced more affordably at $16,500.

The Group II Lennox Stakes (7f) saw a return to form for Golden Eagle winner Lake Forest, who ran home well for second to long shot winner Witness Stand.

A four year-old gelding by Expert Eye, Witness Stand was bought by his current connections for 100,000 guineas at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale last year and is now trained by the partnership of Jamie Insole and Richard Newland.

It was his first win for his new owners and Witness Stand now has four wins from 16 starts with this victory his second Black Type success.

Bred by Alvediston Stud, Witness Stand has a Juddmonte pedigree and is the best of four winners from Respondez, a placed sister to Group I winning sprinter Prohibit.

His sire Expert Eye now stands in South Africa.

The Group II Vintage Stakes (7f) for the two year-olds produced another upset with Wootton Bassett expected to get the winner in race favourite Dorset, but the big grey faded to finish fifth with victory going to unbeaten colt Zavateri.

Trained by  Eve Johnson Houghton, Zavateri had to carry a penalty having won the Group II July Stakes at Newmarket at his previous start.

He made it three wins in as many starts when scoring by a short head for Charles Bishop in a thriller over Godolphin’s Palace Pier colt Morris Dancer.

Purchased for a modest 35,000 guineas from the Newsells Park Stud draft at the Tattersalls October Book 2 Yearling Sale by Highflyer Bloodstock / Eve Johnson Houghton, Zavateri

“Zavateri is just so tough, he had to win his race twice. He went to win it and then William [Buick] came at him so he had to win it again. He just amazes me, he's such a dude and a lovely horse. He cut through the pack like a knife through butter,” said Eve Johnson Houghton.

Zavateri is the first foal of unraced Aga Khan bred Siyouni mare Zeroua, a half-sister to imported Australian Group III winner Zeyrek and importantly a grand-daughter of 2008 European Horse of the Year Zarkava.

Zavateri is the first stakes-winner for his sire Without Parole, a Group I winning son of Frankel, whose oldest progeny are three year-olds.

Without Parole stands at Newsells Park Stud at a fee of £8,000.

Advertisment
More Reading...
Melbourne Cup Dream Alive for Kiwi Stayers
Gr.1 Melbourne Cup (3200m) dreams are still alive for connections of Kiwi stayers Mark Twain and Trav.
Sires With Winners - Sunday October 26
Here is the full list of 74 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Pedigree Potential –NZB Ready to Run – Nicks that Click
A quality packed catalogue for the 2025 NZB Ready to Run Sale (November 12 and 13) is online with breeze up video now in place and in the lead up to the sale we’ll go looking each week for some horses of interest that jump out on pedigree for various reasons.
Sires With Winners - Saturday October 25
Here is the full list of 136 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
Impressive First winner for Armory
Mapperley Stud stallion Armory recorded his first winner on Sunday when his two-year-old daughter Silhouette raced to a dominant victory in the Fusion Electrical Two-Year-Old (900m) at Trentham.
One to Watch – Sha Tin – You Don’t See That Every Day!
The Mark Newnham stable has been on fire in Hong Kong since the start of the new season and the former Sydney trainer produced a super promising winner at Sha Tin on Sunday by Capitalist that did everything wrong and miraculously still won the race!
First Winner for King of Comedy
Novara Park Stud stallion King Of Comedy (IRE) is on the board as a sire, with his son Sir Ruby becoming his first winner when victorious over 1300m at Selangor Turf Club in Malaysia on Sunday.
New Cup Goal for Wolfgang
It may not be the Cup target they were aiming for, but Wolfgang put himself firmly into Gr.3 Martin Collins New Zealand Cup (3200m) calculations following his victory in the SkyCity Hamilton Waikato Cup Prelude (2400m) at Te Rapa on Monday.
Early Return Home for Cogburn
Group I winning Not This Time son Cogburn (USA) will return to WinStar Farm in Kentucky earlier than planned after disappointing fertility results during his first Australian covering season at Widden Stud.
Transatlantic Takes $1million Five Diamonds Prelude
Transatlantic’s lucrative spring carnival continued at Randwick with an arrogant victory in the $1m Five Diamonds Prelude.