Unibet Stewards' Cup
Heritage Handicap, Goodwood 15:40
£250,000 added,
3yo plus, 6f, Class 2   
Saturday 3rd August 2019

Free Racing Tips

1 Khaadem 4/1F
2 Open Wide 14/1
3 Raucous 28/1
4 Summerghand 12/1
27 ran NR: Aljady Distances: 2¾l, ¾l, nk
Time: 1m 9.79s (slow by 0.09s)

Khaadem's easy victory in the £250,000 Unibet Stewards' Cup for trainer Charlie Hills and jockey Jim Crowley was a second win in the handicap for his trainer, following Magical Memory in 2015. The Dark Angel-sired colt was the 4/1 favourite, and became the joint shortest-priced winner of the Unibet Stewards' Cup (with 2003 winner Patavellian) since 1946.
 
Khaadem carried 9st 6lb to his two and three-quarter lengths triumph over 14/1 chance Open Wide - the highest weight ever carried to victory in the race by a three-year-old. The previous record belonged to Red Alert, who carried 9st 2lb when winning in 1974, and Matador, who carried the same weight in 1956.
 
A delighted Hills, for whom this was a third success of the 2019 Qatar Goodwood Festival, said: " I so enjoyed that, everything went perfectly really. Three-year-olds have got a pretty good record in this race recently. I am sure that he could get seven furlongs if we wanted to go that route, but he is the most beautiful-looking horse. 

"He is growing up with every race that he has and we have to look at a Group race next. He is a class horse and is only going to get better and better, so I think we have to go to the top table with him. 

"I guess we will have to look at the G1 [Sprint Cup] at Haydock. Magical Memory won this race and just got touched off there. I think this fellow is a very good horse who is only going to get better and better."
 
Asked about Khaadem's price, which shortened considerably in recent days, Hills replied: "He's a three-year-old and sometimes they attract quite a bit of attention. He ran a terrific race at Newbury last time when nothing really went the right way. You can never be too confident in a big-race field like this about the draw and how the pace is. He doesn't know what he price he is!
 
"I think he could be a Group horse - I think he's up to that. He did it really impressively today. I was really impressed with the way he behaved today. He was a little bit mentally not quite on his A game earlier in the year; he had to have a hood on in the preliminaries, but now he's growing up and starting to become a man. Hopefully we've got a tremendous future with this horse. 
 
"He had a dirty scope after the [G1] Commonwealth Cup [at Royal Ascot]; he just wasn't right. He was just so lethargic that day and I had really fancied him, but at least we had an excuse for that and we've put that to bed now. His last two races have been fantastic."

Trainers Quotes

Jockey Jim Crowley said: " Fair play to Charlie for running him in the race. As a three-year-old, this race suits him well and, after his last run, he is a Group horse in a handicap. Mentally, he is improving all the time and it was a great performance.

"I had to squeeze through a bit of a gap up Joe Fanning's inside at the two pole but we were always in a dream run and it worked out perfect."
 
He added: "The week's got better. I knew Friday and Saturday were my best days, and so it has proved. He got no luck in running last time and Charlie hass always held him in high regard.
 
"He's got the most beautiful pedigree, and we'd love to make a stallion out of him by winning a Group 1. Charlie went for the Haydock Sprint Cup with Magical Memory after he won this, and that's the sort of race this horse can go for now."

SureWIn

Qatar Stewards' Cup (Heritage Handicap)
£250,000 added, 3yo plus, 6f, Class 2
27 ran
Going: Good to Firm, Good in places

POS (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY
01 (03)    Khaadem 3 9-6 Charles Hills Jim Crowley 4/1F
02 (08) 2¾ Open Wide 5 8-12 Amanda Perrett Pat Dobbs 14/1
03 (18) ¾ Raucous 6 9-9 6ex Robert Cowell Cieren Fallon 28/1
04 (06) nk Summerghand 5 9-3 David O'Meara Ryan Moore 12/1
05 (09 nk Justanotherbottle 5 9-0 Declan Carroll James Doyle 7/1
06 (05) ½ Gulliver 5 9-3 David O'Meara Gerald Mosse 33/1
07 (01) nk Lake Volta 4 9-3 Mark Johnston Joe Fanning 15/2
08 (27) nk Stone Of Destiny 4 9-3 Andrew Balding Silvestre De Sousa 33/1
09 (04) ½ Growl 7 8-9 Richard Fahey Callum Shepherd 16/1
10 (26) 1¼ Kimifive 4 8-9 Joseph Tuite Shane Kelly 25/1
11 (17) shd Embour 4 9-1 6ex Richard Hannon Sean Levey 40/1
12 (07) nk El Hombre 5 8-9 Keith Dalgleish Andrew Breslin 50/1
13 (21) nk Arecibo 4 9-0 6ex David O'Meara Frankie Dettori 12/1
14 (22) nk Cosmic Law 3 8-11 Richard Fahey P J McDonald 25/1
15 (24) ½ Gunmetal 4 6 9-6 David Barron Harry Bentley 14/1
16 (20) hd Soldier's Minute 4 9-1 Keith Dalgleish Scott McCullagh 50/1
17 (19) shd Buridan 4 8-8 Richard Hannon Tom Marquand 40/1
18 (15) nse Ornate 6 9-6 David C Griffiths Phil Dennis 33/1
19 (13) 1¼ Spanish City 6 8-13 Roger Varian David Egan 16/1
20 (23) ¾ Sir Maximilian 10 8-11 Ian Williams Angus Villiers 66/1
21 (25) ¾ George Bowen 7 9-5 Richard Fahey Tony Hamilton 33/1
22 (12) shd Air Raid 4 9-4 6ex Jedd O'Keeffe Jack Garritty 18/1
23 (16) hd Vanbrugh 4 9-10 Charles Hills Kieran Shoemark 25/1
24 (02) ¾ Hyperfocus 5 8-8 Tim Easterby James Sullivan 66/1
25 (14) 1¼ True Mason 3 8-13 K R Burke Ben Curtis 40/1
26 (10) 1¼ Baron Bolt 6 9-5 Paul Cole Rossa Ryan 25/1
27 (11) ½ Flavius Titus 4 9-2 Roger Varian Andrea Atzeni 9/1
23 NR (28) 62-300 Aljady 4 8-11 Richard Fahey NON RUNNER

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