By Peter Moore at Goodwood Tuesday 30th July 2024
The opening day of Glorious Goodwood, the Qatar Goodwood Festival, saw record temperatures across the Sussex track.
The feature race of the day the Group 1 Goodwood Cup saw another scintillating performance from Kyprios. The six- year-old- produced another breathtaking performance to land the 2m race, after taking the Ascot Gold Cup last month.
Aidan O’Brien’s horse was completing a sixth success of his career and duly completed the Gold Cup- Goodwood Cup double for the second time.
Remarkably, under sweltering hot conditions he lowered the course record by more than three seconds.
Despite Kyprios sweating a lot in the paddock and a slip on the bend, under Ryan Moore this immense animal talent proved a class apart from his five rivals to come home clear from the Gosden’s trained Sweet William and Gregory.
Moore always looked comfortable in the saddle, having not asked the horse to do anything until the 2 pole where he started to pull away from his rivals in imposing style to prove why he is currently top of the staying division.
After the race Moore said “”We slipped on the top turn and I dropped away from the horse I wanted to take me into the race,” Ryan Moore said. “It put him on the back foot a little bit down the hill and I wasn’t able to control the race as well as I’d have liked, but he’s just better than them, that’s the whole story. He’s a level above.
“He still got there with two furlongs to run, he was going very easily and was a little idle in front. It’s a tremendous performance and he’s been a great horse for a long time now. His record is incredible.”
Kyprios was ruled out of the Goodwood Cup last year after a possible career-ending injury. Back at Navan in April heralded a return to winning ways, before landing the Levmoss Stakes in May before clinching a second success in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot.
Trainer Aidan O’Brien was quick to point out it wasn’t down to him that the horse had recovered so well, but the praise should go to his backroom staff.
“It’s a team that makes it happen,” O’Brien said. “They all work well together as he’s an athlete with a lot of miles on him, so we’re just very lucky to have the facilities and people to care for him.
“Kyprios is a very special horse. He has so much class, he’s really going along in second gear. It wasn’t easy for Ryan because he felt round the bends Kyprios was a bit different than he was here before and he slipped on the top bend.
“He sweated a lot too and he didn’t stop, so we were a worried but it was probably because it was so warm. He was a little bit different than he usually was, so we’re relieved it’s over.”
“He’s incredible,” O’Brien said. “He went through very tough times and he’s so genuine. He wears his heart on his sleeve every single day and he always keeps a little bit in his races.
The opening race of the afternoon went to Irish raider Take Heart who held on by a neck under Ben Coen for former jockey Jonny Murtagh.
Top weight Audience prevailed in the Group 2 Lennox Stated with Raf Havlin aboard. The five-year-old has won four times from 7f to 1m on good to firm and good ground. With the ground changed to good during the afternoon, the John & Thady Gosden gelding put aside his previous run in the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot to quicken away and win convincingly by four lengths from Art Power.
Northern trainer Michael Dods has an outstanding record at Goodwood where he has sent out four winners from his last five runners. That stat can now be added by one after Tatterstall took the Coral Racing Club Handicap over 5f.
The four-year-old loves fast ground with today’s conditions ideal with Connor Beasley on board, he set the pace straight from the start to hold on by a nose from the Jack Channon trained Miss Attitude.