Henri Matisse ready to renew Field Of Gold rivalry at Goodwood
The Ballydoyle handler said: 'He's being trained for the Sussex and is going good so far. We're very happy with him and he is progressing.'
Also a runner-up at the Royal meeting was Illinois, in the Gold Cup behind Trawlerman, and he too is set for a trip to the Sussex Downs, where he could be joined by an emerging stablemate.
O'Brien said: 'At the moment he (Illinois) is going for the Goodwood Cup and it's possible that Scandinavia could go there as well.
'We were very happy with his run in Ascot. We'd prefer he had another year before he went there (for the Gold Cup), but that is the way it worked out.'
O'Brien also outlined plans for Coventry Stakes winner Gstaad, who will be seen next in top-level action at the Curragh.
He said: 'The plan is to go for the Phoenix Stakes (August 9). That is the way we are thinking at the moment.'
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ITV News
3 minutes ago
- ITV News
Pacemaker Qirat stuns Sussex Stakes big guns
John and Thady Gosden's Field Of Gold was a 1-3 shot to follow in the hoofprints of his sire Kingman by adding this prestigious Group One contest to his previous top-level victories in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes. The Ralph Beckett-trained Qirat, who was last seen finishing 27th of 30 runners in the Royal Hunt Cup, was supplemented for the race last week at a cost of £70,000 in a bid to ensure the red-hot favourite had a strong gallop to aim at. But the race did not go to script, with Qirat keeping up the gallop to emerge triumphant under Richard Kingscote, despite the best efforts of Rosallion, who was a neck adrift at the line. Field Of Gold, meanwhile, had to settle for a laboured fourth, with Henri Matisse third. Beckett said: 'Richard has always been a very good judge of the clock. The last thing I said to him was keep going with this fellow, he could run really well. 'He loves this place and I wanted to enter him because his work was really good. It's a horse race and anything can happen.' Qirat's dam, Emulous, also produced last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner for Beckett in Bluestocking. He went on: 'I thought he looked a million beforehand and that in the race he would set the pace from the front, and the longer he lasted the better for those concerned with the favourite. 'He's always threatened to be a good horse and today he showed it. 'What about the mare? To come up with Bluestocking and him. She's been like a hole in the wall, like a cash machine.' Kingscote, who recently announced he is taking up a licence in Hong Kong, said: 'I feel like a villain but when I saw it wasn't a grey nose (Field Of Gold) coming towards me I just kept going.' Although clearly not the result owner-breeders Juddmonte were expecting, the team's European racing manager Barry Mahon was keen to take the positives out of it. Of Qirat, he told Racing TV: 'Ralph said in the parade ring beforehand 'this horse is going to run big' and said to Richard 'there's a big run in this horse'. Whilst he was obviously there to make the pace, Ralph thought he could finish in the three and he was dead right. 'He's a horse we always felt had a lot of potential. Ralph actually wanted to enter him for this race earlier in the year and in my wisdom I said 'don't be ridiculous'. We ended up having to supplement him, but he's got the result. 'At the end of the day Juddmonte and the owners want to compete at the top level and want to win Group One races. Whilst it's not with the horse we thought it would be, we've still won the race, which is the most important thing.' When asked about future plans for the winner, Mahon added: 'I've had people from America and Hong Kong and every sort of racing jurisdiction coming up to me inviting him to run, so hopefully the owners might want to travel him. 'Ralph knows a thing or two about winning a Breeders' Cup race, so maybe that's where he'll end up.' What the rest of the season holds for Field Of Gold remains to be seen, with Mahon saying: 'The rest of the field seemed to get detached from the two pacemakers, but I think ultimately William (Buick) felt he didn't handle the track and felt he was a bit flat today. We don't know why, but we all have off days – human and equines and all manner of beasts. 'Whether there's an issue there or something we're not sure, we'll have to investigate, but he's definitely not the Field Of Gold that we've all seen and know. I'm sure he'll be back and there'll be another day. 'He's had a good enough break since Ascot, John and Thady have freshened him up and they've been happy with how he's trained. He looked good today and William said going to the start he felt very fresh, so maybe he was a little bit too fresh. 'We did give him a good break after Ascot and maybe we were a little bit kind on him. We'll get him home and check him out first and I think we'll have to make a plan after that.'
South Wales Guardian
23 minutes ago
- South Wales Guardian
Pacemaker Qirat stuns Sussex Stakes big guns
John and Thady Gosden's Field Of Gold was a 1-3 shot to follow in the hoofprints of his sire Kingman by adding this prestigious Group One contest to his previous top-level victories in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the St James's Palace Stakes. The Ralph Beckett-trained Qirat, who was last seen finishing 27th of 30 runners in the Royal Hunt Cup, was supplemented for the race last week at a cost of £70,000 in a bid to ensure the red-hot favourite had a strong gallop to aim at. But the race did not go to script, with Qirat keeping up the gallop to emerge triumphant under Richard Kingscote, despite the best efforts of Rosallion, who was a neck adrift at the line. Field Of Gold, meanwhile, had to settle for a laboured fourth, with Henri Matisse third. Beckett said: 'Richard has always been a very good judge of the clock. The last thing I said to him was keep going with this fellow, he could run really well. 'He loves this place and I wanted to enter him because his work was really good. It's a horse race and anything can happen.' Qirat's dam, Emulous, also produced last year's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner for Beckett in Bluestocking. He went on: 'I thought he looked a million beforehand and that in the race he would set the pace from the front, and the longer he lasted the better for those concerned with the favourite. Who saw this coming? Field Of Gold's supposed pacemaker Qirat, trained by @RalphBeckett, wins the Sussex Stakes at 150-1! — PA Racing (@PAracing) July 30, 2025 'He's always threatened to be a good horse and today he showed it. 'What about the mare? To come up with Bluestocking and him. She's been like a hole in the wall, like a cash machine.' Kingscote, who recently announced he is taking up a licence in Hong Kong, said: 'I feel like a villain but when I saw it wasn't a grey nose (Field Of Gold) coming towards me I just kept going.' Although clearly not the result owner-breeders Juddmonte were expecting, the team's European racing manager Barry Mahon was keen to take the positives out of it. Of Qirat, he told Racing TV: 'Ralph said in the parade ring beforehand 'this horse is going to run big' and said to Richard 'there's a big run in this horse'. Whilst he was obviously there to make the pace, Ralph thought he could finish in the three and he was dead right. 'He's a horse we always felt had a lot of potential. Ralph actually wanted to enter him for this race earlier in the year and in my wisdom I said 'don't be ridiculous'. We ended up having to supplement him, but he's got the result. 'At the end of the day Juddmonte and the owners want to compete at the top level and want to win Group One races. Whilst it's not with the horse we thought it would be, we've still won the race, which is the most important thing.' When asked about future plans for the winner, Mahon added: 'I've had people from America and Hong Kong and every sort of racing jurisdiction coming up to me inviting him to run, so hopefully the owners might want to travel him. 'Ralph knows a thing or two about winning a Breeders' Cup race, so maybe that's where he'll end up.' What the rest of the season holds for Field Of Gold remains to be seen, with Mahon saying: 'The rest of the field seemed to get detached from the two pacemakers, but I think ultimately William (Buick) felt he didn't handle the track and felt he was a bit flat today. We don't know why, but we all have off days – human and equines and all manner of beasts. 'Whether there's an issue there or something we're not sure, we'll have to investigate, but he's definitely not the Field Of Gold that we've all seen and know. I'm sure he'll be back and there'll be another day. 'He's had a good enough break since Ascot, John and Thady have freshened him up and they've been happy with how he's trained. He looked good today and William said going to the start he felt very fresh, so maybe he was a little bit too fresh. 'We did give him a good break after Ascot and maybe we were a little bit kind on him. We'll get him home and check him out first and I think we'll have to make a plan after that.'
Daily Mirror
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Goodwood 'daylight robbery' as outsider pulls off huge 150-1 shock in £1m race
Qirat, put in the race to make the running for 1-3 favourite Field Of Gold in the Sussex Stakes, could not be caught as the hot favourite could only finish fourth Punters were left stunned when a 150-1 outsider pulled off one of the longest priced big race shocks in history in a £1 million horse race on Wednesday. The Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes is one of Europe's top mile races which annually provides the first major clash between the Classic generation and the best older horses. This year's edition was billed as a shoot out between Field Of Gold, the Irish 2,000 Guineas and St James's Palace Stakes winner, and Rosallion, winner of the same two races 12 months ago. Field Of Gold's owners Juddmonte added the Ralph Beckett-trained Qirat to the field to operate as a pacemaker. He was priced accordingly in the betting market at 150-1, shorter only than Serengeti, who was in the race to make the running for Aidan O'Brien's main challenger Serengeti. The two set off to fulfil their roles but when Serengeti ran out of steam, Qirat moved to the front and stayed there to the delight of a Ladbrokes punter who put a £50 bet on the winner. Field Of Gold found very little when asked to launch his challenge by William Buick, and only Rosallion came close to catching the leader, failing by a neck. Henri Matisse took third with Field Of Gold, the 1-3 favourite, fourth, beaten three and a quarter lengths. Winning jockey Richard Kingscote, riding his first Glorious Goodwood winner for ten years, said: 'Ultimately we were there as a helping hand to go an even gallop. We were somewhat ignored early, then took a lead. The horse likes the track and even though he was here to help he could do his best. 'I feel like a villain but when I saw it wasn't a grey nose coming towards me I just kept going.' Beckett said: 'I'm not that sorry. He did his job. That was the plan and he went 12 second furlongs. They didn't sit close to him and today is the end result. 'He is a real Goodwood specialist and Richard is very good in this role. I'm sorry it didn't work out for Field Of Gold but it's a horse race. Anything can happen. He's always threatened to be a good horse. I just haven't managed to get that out of him until today.' The Goodwood stewards held an inquiry into Qirat's improved form comparted to his previous start in a handicap at Royal Ascot where he finished 27th of 30 runners. 'Ralph Beckett's explanation that the gelding was not suited by the first-time blinkers in its previous race and raced too keenly as a result was noted,' the report said. 'Qirat was routine tested.' Field Of Gold's trainer John Gosden suggested that Field Of Gold had not handled the undulating track. 'He's done nothing wrong. Actually the other pacemaker gets left, he comes round, they finally going a pace. He's sitting back a long way, that's life and the pacemaker goes and wins it. If you let them have those fractions they go and do it. Don't miss a FREE £2 William Hill shop bet inside your Mirror every day of Glorious Goodwood Festival Pick up your Mirror every day of the Goodwood festival to get your hands on 12 page pullouts packed with insight from the punters you trust, plus FREE William Hill shop bets every day of the festival from Tuesday July 29 until Saturday August 2, 2025. Find out more here. 'Field Of Gold ran on but he didn't seem too well balanced on the track, It's a different kind of track he's ever run on. He just got a little unbalanced coming out of the dip into the bend but I'm not making any excuses. They ignored the pacemaker and paid the price. 'He ran a huge race in the 2,000 Guineas and was flying at the finish. He was not flying at the finish today so there is a very big difference. 'He definitely wasn't at his best today so we will have to see why. William said as soon as he asked him the engine wasn't there, simple as that. He didn't fire today.' While the result was a huge result for the bookmakers, a Ladbrokes customer from Didcot won £7,550 after staking £50 on Qirat. "Hardly anyone saw that result coming but Qirat's Sussex Stakes upset left one punter in particular £7.5k better off in one of the biggest shocks we've seen at Glorious Goodwood," said spokesperson Alex Apati.
