Scandinavia And Trawlerman Renew Rivalry In Goodwood Cup
A Head Splits Them Ahead Of Goodwood Cup 2026
Trawlerman returns to Goodwood for the first time since a handicap win over 1m 6f on the final day of the 2022 meeting, a career that has since carried him to two runnings of the British Champions Long Distance Cup and a string of head-on duels with Aidan O'Brien-trained rivals. Scandinavia, unbeaten in six starts, added Classic honours in the 13 September 2025 Gr.1 St Leger before his Ascot triumph, and John Gosden is well aware of the task facing his stable's stayer on the Sussex Downs.
"It was obviously not easy running first time out at Ascot, let alone over two and a half miles for the first time of the year, but he ran a huge race there," said Thady Gosden. "He's come out of it very well. He's been in fantastic form since, and it's a track he hasn't run at for a long time, but the two miles should suit him well."
John Gosden pointed to the concession his stable's stayer made at Royal Ascot. "Don't forget, the older horses give the four-year-olds a pound in the Gold Cup," he said. "And a pound over two and a half miles in that heat." Trawlerman's season began later than usual, in the Gold Cup itself, after a condition that has made him sensitive to bright light and requires him to race in shaded goggles.
Aidan O'Brien reports his stable's stayer in good order since the Ascot thriller. "Everything has gone well with him since, and all this year as well. We were delighted with him at Ascot. He's in good form," O'Brien said. He described the four-year-old's racing style in terms that echo a Ballydoyle favourite of the past: "He's very like Yeats in that way; he's a high-tempo horse and finds it very easy to go at a high tempo for a long time."
Scandinavia, trained by Aidan O'Brien for Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith and Mrs John Magnier, defends his Goodwood Cup 2026 crown against Godolphin's Trawlerman, trained by John and Thady Gosden, at Goodwood Racecourse on 28 July 2026. Their rivalry currently favours the four-year-old son of Justify, who denied the eight-year-old Golden Horn gelding by a head in the 18 June 2026 Gr.1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. On 29 July 2025, Scandinavia prevailed on the Sussex Downs, beating stablemate Illinois to the two-mile Group One prize in a race Trawlerman did not contest.
The Gr.1 Goodwood Cup was run over two miles on turf at Goodwood Racecourse for horses aged three years and older, with the winner collecting £283,550 (US$377,000) from a maximum £500,000 (US$665,000) purse. Eight runners were confirmed at final declarations: Scandinavia (Ryan Moore), Trawlerman (William Buick), Rahiebb (Ray Dawson), Lazy Griff (Oisin Murphy), Illinois (Wayne Lordan), French Master (James Doyle), Amiloc (Hector Crouch) and Miss Alpilles (Kieran Shoemark).
The Case For A Different Rahiebb
Roger Varian sends Rahiebb back into Group One company on the belief that a tailed-off eighth in the 18 June 2026 Gold Cup was a trip-related anomaly rather than a true reflection of Rahiebb's ability. Carrying the silks of Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum, Rahiebb was a neck runner-up to Scandinavia in the 13 September 2025 St Leger and landed the Gr.2 Yorkshire Cup on his reappearance on 15 May 2026, form that gives Varian more encouragement than the run at Ascot.
"I think you have to put Ascot down to the trip. It was six furlongs further than he'd raced over before," Varian said. "He was fine afterwards, and we were happy with him before, but the Ascot Gold Cup is an extreme trip. He's only gone beyond a mile and three-quarters once, and that was at Ascot, where he was disappointing, but I don't think that means we can't ask him to go over two miles." He added: "His run in the St Leger last year and in the Yorkshire Cup suggest that two miles ought to be in his range. He was strong through the line on both those occasions."
A Deep Field On The Sussex Downs
Illinois, runner-up to stable companion Scandinavia in the 29 July 2025 Goodwood Cup, arrives fresh from victory in the marathon Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot on 20 June 2026, a performance that pushed him beyond two and a half miles for the first time. French Master, representing Wathnan Racing for John and Thady Gosden, finished second to Illinois in that Ascot race and drops back in trip for a task better suited to his stamina profile.
Charlie Johnston's Lazy Griff, the 7 June 2025 Gr.1 Derby runner-up, steps into the race off the back of a Listed win over course and distance at Sandown and takes the ride of Oisin Murphy for the first time. Ralph Beckett's Amiloc, unbeaten in a hat-trick of races at the start of the 2025 season but without a win since, tries two miles for the first time, while Ed Walker's mare Miss Alpilles, a career-best fifth in the 18 June 2026 Gold Cup, completes the field for Kieran Shoemark.
With the Godolphin-Trawlerman seeking to add a first Goodwood Cup to Godolphin's roll of honour and Scandinavia chasing a second success that would place him among an elite band of dual winners, the Sussex Downs are set for a rematch that promises to settle little of the argument the pair began at Royal Ascot.
The Goodwood Cup sits alongside the Gr.1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and the Gr.1 St Leger as one of the season's principal European trials for stayers, with form from all three regularly pointing towards the Dubai Gold Cup on World Cup night at Meydan.
Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup Stakes | Gr.1 | Weight-for-age | 2m | N/A | 3YO+ | N/A | Thoroughbred | Turf | £500,000 (US$665,000) | N/A | Good (forecast)
Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup Stakes 2026 | Contenders
1. Scandinavia (T: Aidan O'Brien / J: Ryan Moore)
2. Trawlerman (T: John & Thady Gosden / J: William Buick)
3. Rahiebb (T: Roger Varian / J: Ray Dawson)
4. Lazy Griff (T: Charlie Johnston / J: Oisin Murphy)
5. Illinois (T: Aidan O'Brien / J: Wayne Lordan)
6. French Master (T: John & Thady Gosden / J: James Doyle)
7. Amiloc (T: Ralph Beckett / J: Hector Crouch)
8. Miss Alpilles (T: Ed Walker / J: Kieran Shoemark)