The Goodwood Cup is second only to the Gold Cup when judging the Flat’s most prestigious staying races.
The great Stradivarius landed four on the spin from 2017-2020 and Kyprios is out to regain his title from 2022, having bagged the Gold Cup last time. He will be a warm order to do so.
Our man Clive Gildon assesses the big race, giving his opinion on who wins along with a back-up play.
3.10 - Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup Stakes (Group 1, 2m)
The Goodwood Cup revolves around whether Kyprios can reproduce the form of his Gold Cup success over Trawlerman last month. It is likely he will do the business under regular partner Ryan Moore.
A top-class stayer two seasons ago, Kyprios failed to reach those heights in a truncated 2023 campaign that was impacted by injury, but produced his best effort since the 2022 Prix du Cadran when avenging his loss to Trawlerman on Champions Day last term.
The pair pulled well clear of the third, Sweet William, that day and that horse will need to find significant improvement to reverse that form.
Trawlerman has been ruled out of Goodwood and that paves the way for Kyprios to regain his crown two years on from his success here over the great Stradivarius.
There is a chance he isn’t operating at quite the same level as his four-year-old days, but this crop of stayers rates a slightly substandard one.
Aidan O’Brien’s top-tier six-year-old is an uncomplicated ride who tries hard, is tactically versatile and possesses a potent mix of speed and stamina. He shares those traits with many of the division’s best in generations gone by.
Along with Sweet William, Kyprios has also lowered the colours of Coltrane and Gregory already. It could be that a new foe, Al Qareem, is the one to give the market leader the most to think about.
He seems likely to control the pace from the front under Clifford Lee here and might be best positioned to pounce in the dash for home.
This is a new trip for Al Qareem, but he gives the impression it should suit, particularly after such an encouraging runner-up finish when he rallied well in a stacked running of the Silver Cup over 1m6f at York last time.
He is something of an unknown quantity against these stayers and tends to find plenty for pressure, so this could be a decent piece of placing by Karl Burke with the huge prize-money on offer.
SELECTION: KYPRIOS
NEXT BEST: AL QAREEM
