Glorious Goodwood - Mohaather and Jim Crowley win a thrilling Sussex Stakes

It was the race of the week - perhaps the race of the season.
Chamade wins the opener / Picture: Alan Crowhurst, GettyChamade wins the opener / Picture: Alan Crowhurst, Getty
Chamade wins the opener / Picture: Alan Crowhurst, Getty

The202 Qatar Sussex Stakes got the big build-up - and lived up to the billing every step of the way.

It put the best milers in the business against one another - and picking a winner in advance was not easy. In fact it wasn't an easier a furlong from home.

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Kameko, Siskin, Circus Maximus and Mohaather all looked strong contenders ahead of them leaving the stalls, and the rest of the field - Wichita, Vatican City and San Donato - could hardly be discounted.

As it turned out Mohaather, ridden by Sussex jockey Jim Crowley and trained by Marcus Tregoning, prevailed. It was Tregoning's first Group 1 win anywhere for 14 years.

Other races...

1.10pm

Mambo Nights on the way to winning the handicap / Picture: Alan Crowhurst, GettyMambo Nights on the way to winning the handicap / Picture: Alan Crowhurst, Getty
Mambo Nights on the way to winning the handicap / Picture: Alan Crowhurst, Getty

The British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies' Handicap opened Wednesday's proceedings and was claimed by Harry Bentley on the Ralph Beckett-trained 22/1 shot Chamade, a comfortable two-and-three-quarter lengths in front of 13/8 favourite Waliyak.

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The British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies' Handicap opened Wednesday's proceedings and was claimed by Harry Bentley on the Ralph Beckett-trained 22/1 shot Chamade, a comfortable two-and-three-quarter lengths in front of 13/8 favourite Waliyak.

Chamade made every yard of the running in the mile and a quarter race. The three-year-old Sepoy filly kept finding out in front, seeing off all challengers.

Beckett said: “Chamade is what you call a slow burner. She was actually in the Horses In Training sale last October and won just before; if she hadn’t won well that day, she would have got sold for about five grand. She is a homebred, she has got her black type and now she has won a couple, so that’s great."

Steel Bull wins the Molecomb / Picture: Alan Crowhurst, GettySteel Bull wins the Molecomb / Picture: Alan Crowhurst, Getty
Steel Bull wins the Molecomb / Picture: Alan Crowhurst, Getty

Bentley added: “As much as I love this racecourse, it can be an unlucky place at times. Things went nicely in front and she just got the run of the race. She was coming back down in class and is very effective over this distance. When she won at Newmarket on her second start and Richard Kingscote rode her, it was similar fashion – she dominated a bit in front and kept on pulling out more."

1.45pm

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There was a second Goodwood success of the week for Tom Marquand when he guided Just Hubert to a 25/1 victory in the longest race of the festival, the Unibet You're On Goodwood Handicap, for trainer William Muir.

The four-year-old still had plenty to do as the 15-strong field entered the home straight but began to make progress entering the final quarter mile. He mounted a challenge approaching the final furlong and overhauled long-time leader Rochester House (Mark Johnston/Silvestre De Sousa, 6/1) in the last half-furlong to win by a neck.

Muir said: “Just Hubert takes a bit of getting ready. If you look at his first three runs last year, I was telling the owner that this was a good horse and he ran rubbish at Bath. Then he ran better at Chester on his favoured ground – it was really soft – but he couldn’t get a run and got stopped everywhere. Then we went to Newbury, when Kerrin McEvoy rode him and he said that we would have a really decent horse if we gelded him. I didn’t and then he won before winning a 50-grand race at Musselburgh. This year has been the same."

Marquand added: “Just Hubert was great. I guess he has been a bit quirky in a few of his runs; getting him out of the gates has been an issue sometimes, so at least that element wasn’t ever going to be an issue today [because of the flag start], but I think whenever there’s a Johnston horse in front you are wary of when you try to get to them – if you go too soon and they get a chance to battle back, they tend to do so, but luckily the way the race panned out I was able just to have one crack inside the last 15 strides, and my lad was pretty tough to get by."

2.15pm

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Mambo Nights was the 9/1 winner of the Unibet 3 Boosts A Day Handicapunder Andrea Atzeni for trainer Richard Hannon.

The Havana Gold colt led approaching the final furlong and kept on well to hold off the late challenge of A Star Above (William Haggas/Hollie Doyle, 13/2) by a neck.

Atzeni said: "Mambo Nights is a big, raw horse. He won quite nicely at Ripon and he had some very good two-year-old form. He has obviously grown a lot between two and three. Today, he jumped fine and was a little bit keen early on. We didn't go much of a gallop, but from halfway he relaxed nicely and moved up lovely."

It was a poignant success for Atzeni and owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum following the sad passing of 2019 G1 Coronation Cup hero Defoe, trained by Roger Varian, following an injury on the Newmarket gallops this morning.

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Paying tribute to Defoe, Atzeni remarked: "It was very sad news. Losing any horse is sad, but Defoe is really close to us and the team at Roger Varian's, and obviously Sheikh Mohammed Obaid who bred the horse and obviously knew him as a foal."

2.45pm

The 2/1 favourite Steel Bull, owned and trained by Michael O'Callaghan and ridden by Colin Keane, turned in a strong performance to win the Group 3 Markel Insurance Molecomb Stakes.

The race, a five-furlong race for two-year-olds. was a first Qatar Goodwood Festival success for both trainer and jockey.

The grey son of Clodovil was making just his second racecourse appearance having made an eye-catching winning debut at Naas a week ago.

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Entering the final two furlongs, Steel Bull had a wall of horses in front of him but made rapid headway to move into a challenging position a furlong from home. He overhauled Ben Macdui (Kevin Ryan/Kevin Stott, 16/1) half a furlong out and went on to score by an ultimately comfortable three-quarters of a length.

O'Callaghan, speaking to ITV Racing from his base at The Curragh, Ireland, said: "I actually struggled to see it properly because the internet dropped out on the computer I was watching on, so I had to try and get into the living room to watch it there. I watched the replay and he has done it very, very well. Colin was as good as ever - he is top-class and has done a great job on him. Obviously, we have a nice horse on our hands, thank God."

Keane said: "He showed a very good turn of foot. He puts his head down and tries very hard. I would imagine he is a horse who is going to keep progressing. I think he would get an extra furlong, because he settles. He is a nice colt. It was an unknown as to whether he would handle the track, but he's a very straightforward horse. He handled it very well."

3.45

Miss Jingles (7/2) just edged out Country Carnival to win the British Stallion Studs Alice Keppel EBF Fillies' Conditions Stakes and give William Buick and Charlie Appleby their second win of the festival following their win with Space Blues on day one.

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A sustained duel in the final furlong saw Miss Jingles get the better of Country Carnival (David O'Meara/James Doyle, 9/2) by a neck.

Buick said: "Miss Jingles is a very game filly. James [Doyle] came really quick on his filly but, once you get this filly into a fight, she loves it. She did the same at Sandown when she won her maiden.

"This race had her name written all over it - a sharp five furlongs on nice ground. She is well-related, being a full-sister to Sound And Silence, who was very quick. She is as quick as he was."

4.20

Oisin Murphy and Richard Fahey teamed up for a 3/1 success with Toro Strike (3/1 fav) in the Theo Fennell Handicap, the final race on day two.

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After encountering trouble in running behind the leaders, Toro Strike delivered his effort a furlong out and showed an impressive turn of foot to score going away by two and a quarter lengths.

Murphy said: "Toro Strike is a beautiful, physical specimen. Through the race, it is always going to be a little bit rough and it was about keeping it as straightforward as possible.

"I feel like if he could stay at seven furlongs for the time being would be a big help. We'll see what Richard thinks but it would be nice to see him land another big prize."

1m-plus tune in

* Stradivarius and Frankie Dettori’s record-breaking fourth success in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup was watched by over a million people on the first day of ‘Glorious.

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A total of 1.1 million watched the race, compared to 751,000 in 2019 (up 50%). The average for the day was also up 40% from 2019 from 592,000 to 830,000 and share up by 32%.

We'll have much more from Glorious Goodwood on this website on Thursday

Here's the best of our Glorious coverage so far, including some selections for today.