Doom Bar Celebration Mile |
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| Group 2, Goodwood 15:45 £100,000 added, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 1  |
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| Saturday 28th August 2015 | |
1 Kodi Bear 4/5F
2 Gabrial 9/1
3 Breton Rock 5/1
6 ran Distances: 3¼l, ¾l, ¾l
TIME 1m 39.46s (slow by 3.26s)
Kodi Bear follows up his Salisbury win by taking the Doom Bar Celebration Mile in testing ground at Goodwood under Gerald Mosse
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Kodi Bear further asserted his position as the apple of trainer Clive Cox's eye with a convincing success.
While sterner tests lie in store for the three-year-old, he passed his latest examination with flying colours after making light work of his elders to add the Group Two prize to his record.
The early stages of the mile contest saw Fire Ship and Cable Bay cut out the running with Gerald Mosse happy to tuck in behind the pair aboard the 4-5 favourite.
Pat Dobbs' decision to take Fire Ship over to the stands side turning for home was swiftly covered by Mosse, with the remaining runners soon following suit.
Once straightened up, Kodi Bear used his potent turn of foot to quickly change gear and open up a gap over his rivals that he maintained all the way to the line.
Charting a path close to the stands side rails, the son of Kodiac only needed to be pushed out with hands and heels to post a three-and-a-quarter-length success and follow up his impressive win in the Group Three Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury.
Bookmakers were quick to react to his victory, with MansionBet cutting Kodi Bear from 10-1 to 8-1 for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October, while MansionBet and Betfred went 7-1 and 6-1 respectively for the same race.
Cox said: "He is special and he certainly showed it today. It is the worst ground he has ever run on but he is a quality horse.
"He is just a wonderful horse. I am so pleased for everyone back home and I am delighted for Olive Shaw. It is a very memorable day as her husband Dennis Shaw, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago, was one of my first major supporters.
"I am delighted and it is great when plans come together as early in the spring we were very worried about him.
"We have always felt that potentially he was the best I've had and he really is going the right way. He is versatile ground-wise, but we tested the boundaries today.
"It is a joy to be involved here in races like this and winning them - it is why we do it. It's just amazing."
The winning rider was equally full of praise for Kodi Bear after making it two wins in as many rides aboard him having been in the plate at Salisbury.
He said: "He's a lovely horse. He liked the ground but I think he came too soon. It's not my style but I had to do it.
"He needs to get a little bit more mature in his mind but I was very pleased with him.
"The ground was a bit soft for him today I think but he has got the engine to get out of it."
Doom Bar Celebration Mile (Group 2)
£100,000 added, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 1
6 ran
Going: Soft (Good to Soft in places)
| Pos | Dr | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | (6) | Kodi Bear (IRE) 4/5f | G Mosse 8-12 |
C G Cox | 3 | |
| 2nd | (4) | 3¼ | Gabrial (IRE) 9/1 | George Chaloner 9-4 |
R A Fahey | 6 |
| 3rd | (2) | ¾ | Breton Rock (IRE) 5/1 | J Fortune 9-4 |
D M Simcock | 5 |
| 4th | (3) | ¾ | Cable Bay (IRE) 6/1 | Jim Crowley 9-4 |
C Hills | 4 |
| 5th | (1) | ½ | Captain Cat (IRE) 12/1 | G Baker 9-4 |
R Charlton | 6 |
| 6th | (5) | 9 | Fire Ship 16/1 | P J Dobbs 9-4 |
W J Knight | 6 |
