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| Staff Writer |
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Courage Mon Ami, owned by John and Thady Gosden, is determined to leave the disappointment of his Goodwood Cup defeat behind and make a strong comeback in the Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup at York.
In June's Royal Ascot Gold Cup, the hero of the race was the gelding who managed to beat 11 other rivals and win by a three-quarters of a length from Andrew Balding's Coltrane.
Quickthorn, trained by Hughie Morrison, emerged victorious in the Goodwood Cup race at South Downs, leaving Courage Mon Ami, the 2-1 favorite, trailing behind in the pack and unable to place. Quickthorn dominated the race with an unassailable lead, finishing six lengths ahead of the competition.
Although he suffered his first defeat, the horse's performance has actually left him feeling fresher than he would have been otherwise. This will undoubtedly help him as he looks to get back to his winning ways on the Knavesmire.
John Gosden said, “We all know the Goodwood Cup was an interestingly different sort of race and not dissimilar to the Lonsdale last year, really.
“He came out of it well. He didn’t have much of a race.
“He couldn’t get a run and then when he did get a run, the race was over. So, he had what I call a nice racecourse gallop, really!
“We’d like to run there (York) and then after that wait for the Prix du Cadran on Arc weekend.”
Dominant Victory: Quickthorn and jockey Tom Marquand aim To Repeat Success
Gosden mentioned that Quickthorn utilized comparable techniques in the previous race and triumphed by an impressive margin of 14 lengths with the help of jockey Tom Marquand. Lady Blyth, the owner-breeder, aims to defend their championship as the same jockey will be riding Quickthorn once more.
“He’s a fantastic horse, obviously. He’d already done it in the Prix Maurice de Nieuil in France when he did it in the Lonsdale Cup last year, but Goodwood was still a bit surreal,” Marquand said.
“In the Lonsdale he pretty much ran away with me if I’m honest. I was going to make the running, but I didn’t intend to go that fast and he was doing too much really. But he’s a lot more measured now and at Goodwood he never felt as though he was going that quick. He was always comfortable and he was able to fill up where he needed to, whereas at York he was always tanking.”
He added, “Everyone thinks they know what we are going to do and I don’t suppose we’ll stray too far away from what works, but I think it would be silly for anyone to think that it’s just a case of taking him on to get him beat, because he’s won races after taking a lead as well.
“Hughie has done an amazing job having Quickthorn right on the day so far, and he’s no one-trick pony. Far from it. He doesn’t have to make the running, so long as he finds a rhythm and is in his comfort zone, and he only has to beat horses he has beaten before.”
Giavellotto has also proven his form on the course, winning the Yorkshire Cup back in May over a shorter distance. He then went on to compete in the Goodwood Cup, but fell victim to Quickthorn's aggressive strategy and finished fifth. Nonetheless, he was still a strong contender, staying close to the front of the chasing pack and finishing only narrowly behind the second-placed horse.
Botti said, “He’s in good form, the ground should be good to firm, it should be quicker than the ground he ran on at Goodwood – which was on the easy side.
“He’s well, he won at York and the main players have been declared, so it looks a tough race but he seems in good order and he’s only run three times this year so he is relatively fresh. We’re looking forward to it.
“That was a funny race to watch (Goodwood Cup), but he ran well and wasn’t beaten far where he was. The track and the ground will be more to his liking at York than they were at Goodwood.
“Hopefully this time the jockeys will be more alert and understand he’s (Quickthorn) a horse you can’t just give a big advantage to, he doesn’t stop, he just keeps going.
“There’s only seven runners, ideally we want to be somewhere in the middle and just get a lead. I will leave it to Andrea (Atzeni), he knows the horse well and gets on with him.”
Andrew Balding is represented by Coltrane and Nate The Great, while Broome, Aidan O'Brien's internationally-campaigned 7YO, is also in the mix. The field is rounded out by River Of Stars, the sole filly contender who triumphed at the Bronte Cup in York earlier this year under Ralph Beckett's guidance.