Frankie Dettori timed his challenge to perfection on the five-year-old, who became the first horse ever to complete the famous hat-trick.
The Bjorn Nielsen-owned chestnut was a warm order to emulate the hugely popular Double Trigger by becoming a three-time winner, and the 4-5 favourite ultimately did so with the minimum of fuss.
Frankie Dettori was happy to play a waiting game as the Tim Easterby-trained Wells Farhh Go set a strong pace and quickly opened up a huge lead. He began to faltered, however, and it was left for the big guns to fight it out.
Gosden said: “He is a gorgeous horse. Wells Farhh Go is smart and I know he went too hard, but it is a dangerous thing to give someone 25 lengths around here and he is a good horse.
Frankie says “He’s a bit of a boy and knows he’s good. He only does what he has to do and is never going to be flashy and win by 10 lengths, but at least doing it this way he has got more chance to stay in training for a long time.”
A third Goodwood Cup for the behemoth stayer!
2019 Goodwood Cup
2019 Gold Cup
2019 Yorkshire Cup
2018 Long Distance Cup
2018 Lonsdale Cup
2018 Goodwood Cup
2018 Gold Cup
2018 Yorkshire Cup
2017 Goodwood Cup
2017 Queen’s Vase
Frankie Dettori rode Stradivarius to victory for a back to back win at Royal Ascot 2019.
A great day at the races for Frankie Dettori at Royal Ascot 2019 on Gold Cup Day. Riding home 4 winners on day 3 to include The Ascot Gold Cup with Stradivarius.
The pairs back to back win int he Ascot Gold Cup, along with his Yorkshire Cup Stakes win, means they are still incontention for their 2nd £1M jackpot.
“What an amazing horse he is. He is a horse for the big occasion and I love him dearly,” said the Italian.
Stradivarius is now on a seven-race winning streak, with his last defeat coming on Champions Day in 2017.
Stradivarius returned in style winning The Matchbook Yorkshire Cup Stakes. The first race of three to claim the £1 Million bonus for the second time.
Frankie Dettori & Stradivarius claimed the £1 Million bonus back in 2018 after winning the Yorkshire Cup, Royal Ascot Cup and Goodwood Cup.
Stradivarius fought off the challenge from Aidan O’Brien’s Irish challenger Southern France to take victory.
Making his first appearance since his Champions Day triumph in October 2018, Stradivarius was the 4-5 favourite in the hands of his rider Frankie Dettori. Although saddled with a 3lb penalty, and under pressure early in the home straight, he responded generously to his rider’s urgings.
Dettori said: “It was brilliant. There was the penalty and he was a bit rusty. There wasn’t much of a pace, it was more of a sprint.
He’s a fighter and he’s got me out of trouble so many times. He just put his head down and went.
He’s going to be a big name in the staying division again.”
A delighted Gosden said: “Obviously this was a prep for the Gold Cup and he hadn’t been trained hard for this. The Gold Cup is two and a half miles, a different ball game.
He’s not the polished article yet. We hope to have that at Royal Ascot.”
Frankie Dettori & John Gosden are keen users of the Horse Weigh platforms to keep their horses in just the right condition.