Qatar Sussex Stakes |
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| Group 1, Goodwood 15:35 £1,000,000 added, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 1  |
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| Wednesday 2nd August 2017 | |
1 Here Comes When 20/1
2
Ribchester 8/13F
3
Lightning Spear 8/1
7 ran NR: Churchill, Zonderland Distances: nk, ¾l, 1½l
Time: 1m 46.11s (slow by 9.91s)
Here Comes When caused a 20/1 shock when landing the £1m G1 Qatar Goodwood Sussex Stakes, which was run in pouring rain.
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Here Comes When was entered in a handicap at the meeting on Friday. Instead he became the first seven-year-old winner of the Qatar Sussex Stakes (it was restricted to three-year-olds until 1959), and while he was fourth in it two years ago, and had landed a pair of Group Two contests in 2014, this was his biggest triumph. In six seasons of racing he had won £280,000, a worthy sum by any standards, but today he doubled it, adding £560,000 to his tally.
Balding said: "He was always travelling strongly through the race and that gave him a chance of being placed, but I thought Lightning Spear would beat us and then Ribchester. Happily they didn't.
"This rain was forecast, so the conditions are not totally unexpected. We hoped he would run well, there's good money all the way down and he loves the ground and likes the track. He's been in great form this year. Jim [Crowley] thought we would be in the first three and he gave him a great ride.
"He won two Group Twos as a four-year-old and has always been a handy horse, but he needs these conditions. We were lucky the race fell away a little bit, but you still have to run to a very good level to win it, which he did. It's one of my more improbable Group One triumphs, but he was 20/1, so not completely without a chance.
"We entered him a long time ago because he was impressive when winning a Listed race at York, and he's very handy on his day. He's a strong traveller on this ground.
"I should think he will have just one more run, probably at Ascot [Champions Day] in the autumn when I hope he gets these conditions again, and then we'll look forward. His racing career will have to end at some point and we'll have to find a nice home for him.
"I'm very happy for Mr and Mrs Hay [Jim and Fitri], who have been wonderful owners for us - they've had horses with us a long time and I'm pleased for them because they love Goodwood."
Qipco Sussex Stakes (British Champions Series)
£1,000,000 added, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Soft
| Pos | Dr | D | Horse SP | Jockey Weight | Trainer | Age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | (5) | Here Comes When (IRE) 20/1 | Jim Crowley 9-8 |
A M Balding | 7 | |
| 2nd | (6) | nk | Ribchester (IRE) 8/13f | W Buick 9-8 |
R A Fahey | 4 |
| 3rd | (1) | ¾ | Lightning Spear 8/1 | Oisin Murphy 9-8 |
D M Simcock | 6 |
| 4th | (7) | 1½ | Zelzal (FR) 4/1 | L Dettori 9-8 |
J C Rouget | 4 |
| 5th | (2) | ½ | Toscanini (IRE) 66/1 | James Doyle 9-8 |
R A Fahey | 5 |
| 6th | (3) | 1¼ | Lancaster Bomber (USA) 8/1 | R L Moore 9-1 |
A P O'Brien | 3 |
| 7th | (9) | ½ | Kool Kompany (IRE) 40/1 | Andrea Atzeni 9-8 |
R Hannon | 5 |
| WN | (8) | Churchill (IRE) | R L Moore 9-8 |
A P O'Brien | 3 | |
| NR | (4) | Zonderland | A Kirby 9-8 |
C G Cox | 4 |
