Stradivarius primed and ‘ready’ for track return

STRADIVARIUS starts on the road to a possible fourth successive Ascot Gold Cup when he makes his seasonal debut in the Longines Sagaro Stakes at the Berkshire course. John Gosden, who trains the horse with his son Thady, reports Stradivarius to be in good form but expects him to come on a lot for today’s comeback outing. The seven-yearold has to recover from disappointing showings in his last two starts of 2020, although both were run on unsuitable ground. Stradivarius had been his brilliant self before then, winning a third Gold Cup by 10 lengths and picking up a fourth Goodwood Cup in a row. He also warmed up for a crack at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with a good second to Anthony Van Dyck in the Prix Foy at ParisLongchamp. ‘He’s ready for a return. Obviously the last two races were both run in exceptionally heavy ground. He wasn’t in love with it. There was no pace in the Arc, then they sprinted,’ said Gosden. ‘He ran very well in the Prix Foy and did nothing wrong before that. He’s a seven-yearold full horse now, so to that extent age is becoming a bit of issue – maybe less so if he was a gelding, but he’s a full horse. But he seems happy in himself and is his usually vociferous self, so we’re looking forward to running him. ‘He likes Ascot, obviously, and I feel the trip is right to start him off at two miles. He’s a bigger, heavier horse this year so he may well need his first race. We’ll see how he runs. If he needs another race, there’s the Yorkshire Cup. ‘He’s bigger, he’s a sevenyear-old and he’s weighing heavier — so to that extent he may need two races before the Gold Cup. We don’t know.’