Kyprios landed a pulsating renewal of the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup from Stradivarius to back up his Ascot Gold Cup victory for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore.
Stradivarius, bidding for a fifth win in the race at the age of eight, went down on his sword having again found a little trouble in running, this time under Andrea Atzeni as Frankie Dettori watched on from the sidelines.
Though he got to the front inside the last furlong, Kyprios (6-4 favourite) kept finding more and got his head back in front in the last 200 yards to hold on for a neck victory.
Trueshan was given the chance to defend his crown by trainer Alan King and the six-year-old ran a bold race in bidding to win back-to-back renewals, finishing a length and a quarter back in third.
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Moore holds the winner – who at one stage in his life was seen as a Classic contender – in very high regard.
“Today is only his eighth race and he is only doing what he has to do,” he said.
“It was a steadily-run race and he was in front a long way out. He was just waiting. I always feel I’m not going to the bottom of him.
“He is a proper Group One horse and Aidan has always had a lot of belief in the horse. At the start of the year he was saying what he thought he could do, so all credit to him and the team at home for getting him back.”
Full report to follow
