The absence of Palace Pier, world #1 on the TRC Global Rankings, with a blood disorder robs this week’s Qatar Sussex Stakes of a much anticipated showdown with 2000 Guineas hero Poetic Flare at Glorious Goodwood.
Shock Breeders’ Mile winner Order Of Australia and Royal Ascot-winning filly Alcohol Free add a bit of spice – but for once the Qatar-sponsored G1 highlight isn’t being billed as a ‘Duel on the Downs’.
The Sussex venue, though, is famed for such head-to-head encounters so here’s Nicholas Godfrey with a reminder of ten of the best from recent years.
Zilzal vs Warning
1989 Sussex Stakes
Well before the specific phrase ‘Duel on the Downs’ entered the Sussex Stakes lexicon, the template was set of a progressive 3-year-old trying to upstage an established older miler. In this case, the star 4-year-old was the Guy Harwood-trained Warning, the highest-rated horse in Europe the previous season, who had won in a storming renewal 12 months earlier. Duly sent off 7/4 favourite, he was held up last off a blistering pace and endured a nightmare run under Pat Eddery, getting “as much light as a mole in a coalmine”, to borrow a memorable phrase from BBC pundit Julian Wilson. In contrast, Michael Stoute’s unbeaten Zilzal, a flashy chestnut son of Nureyev, cruised up alongside the pacesetters for Walter Swinburn before striding away for a 3-length score.
Marling vs Selkirk
1992 Sussex Stakes
One of the most exhilarating mile races of the modern era. After a lung-bursting gallop set by two pacemaking outsiders, triple G1-winning filly Marling – who would probably still have been unbeaten but for a luckless passage in the Guineas – just held off champion older horse Selkirk, who dwarfed her as he threw down a fierce challenge on her outer. It was nip and tuck all the way to the line, where Marling prevailed under a strong Pat Eddery drive. “It was an exhilarating race between two outstanding milers,” recalled Selkirk’s trainer, Ian Balding, years later. “Although our horse was defeated, it remains firmly in my memory as one of the finest races I ever watched. It may even have been the finest.”
Double Trigger vs Double Eclipse
1995 Goodwood Cup
A couple of decades before Stradivarius got involved, Double Trigger made history as a three-time Goodwood Cup winner. His first win raised the roof as he held on by a neck from his full-brother, Double Eclipse, both horses trained by Mark Johnston and owned by Ron Huggins. As game as they come, front-running Double Trigger was favourite after a 5-length Gold Cup win at Ascot, but his year-younger sibling threw down a stern challenge in the final two furlongs before going down by a neck. “I was thinking halfway through that if they both got to the front I’d keep my mouth shut,” said Johnstoin at the time, “But I couldn’t help myself, I shouted for Trigger. He was giving a stone and a half to the other horse, and it was a hell of a performance.”
Ouija Board vs Alexandra Goldrun
2006 Nassau Stakes
The strongest of renewals featuring the winners of 13 G1 races altogether boiled down to a stirring tussle between two fantastic globe-trotting racemares (see video above). Alexandra Goldrun, who had won a less starry Nassau 12 months earlier, ranged alongside the even-money favourite and more than once seemed destined for the upper hand in a 2½-furlong battle. Ouija Board, though, was as tough and genuine as she was talented; beloved by the racing public, she rallied to get the better of a headbob for her sixth G1 triumph. “When the result came up, the cheer from the crowd was incredible,” said Frankie Dettori. “She was a special filly, one of a kind.”
Henrythenavigator vs Raven’s Pass
2008 Sussex Stakes
Quite a rivalry developed between 3-year-old milers Henrythenavigator and Raven’s Pass, who met for the third time in the Sussex Stakes. Having come out on top on both their previous meetings, the Ballydoyle colt was heavily favoured to record his fourth straight G1 success in three months. He did so, but it was mighty close, as the dual Guineas winner was left in front sooner than ideal and his Gosden-trained arch-rival made him work all the way to the line, where the margin was narrowed to just a head. The tide was indeed turning between this top-class pair: they met twice more, Raven’s Pass exacting revenge by reversing the placings in both the Queen Elizabeth II and then on the Pro-Ride synthetic strip at Santa Anita in the Breeders’ Cup Classic.
Frankel vs Canford Cliffs
2011 Sussex Stakes
Amid much pre-race brouhaha, this was the one contest more than any other that popularised the concept of the ‘Duel on the Downs’. After Frankel’s unconvincing victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes, there were those who thought Khalid Abdullah’s superstar might have had a race on his hands as he squared off against older horses for the first time. They were headed by brilliant Richard Hannon-trained miler Canford Cliffs, defending the Goodwood crown he took when he completed a G1 five-timer by beating none other than Goldikova in the Queen Anne Stakes. If this was billed as a match, however, it was entirely one-sided as Frankel produced a stunning display to win by 5 lengths from his rival, who hung markedly left inside the final furlong once push came to shove (see video above). Though it later emerged that Canford Cliffs had sustained a leg injury and he was retired, few outside the Hannon camp thought it made any tangible difference to the outcome.
Toronado vs Dawn Approach
2013 Sussex Stakes
Jockey Richard Hughes made no bones about it: There was a score to settle as Toronado faced the Jim Bolger-trained Dawn Approach for the third time. They’d met twice before, and both times Dawn Approach had come out on top, winning the 2000 Guineas as Toronado flopped in fourth before the Hannon colt was short-headed after getting a bump in the St James’s Palace Stakes. If there was any wrong to be righted – that was arguable, by the way – then Toronado got his just deserts here. Goodwood specialist Hughes waited in typical fashion before delivering his mount late on to claim the race with a telling burst outside Dawn Approach, who had been driven into the lead two out and refused to buckle. Toronado won by a half-length; the pair pulled 2½ lengths clear of third-placed Declaration Of War.
Kingman v Toronado
2014 Sussex Stakes
After winning the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, Toronado came back for more as a 4-year-old. There was to be no repeat victory, however, as he came up against brilliant 3-year-old miler Kingman, sent off 2/5 favourite before a tactical affair in which he swept past toiling rivals with a smart turn of foot in the last half-furlong. The Juddmonte colt won eased down by a length for the third of his four G1 wins over a mile – all of them at odds-on.
The Gurkha vs Galileo Gold
2016 Sussex Stakes
Round two of a clash of the Classic winners, Newmarket Guineas hero Galileo Gold having got first run on The Gurkha, who’d won the Poule d’Essai des Poulains, when the pair met at Royal Ascot in the St James’s Palace Stakes. The Ballydoyle colt was widely expected to reverse the form at Goodwood, and so it proved – although his supporters had a moment of worry as he was again short of room behind his front-running rival (see video above). This time, however, the damage wasn’t terminal, and, while Galileo Gold kept on under pressure, The Gurkha scored by a neck. Also worth noting is the identity of the fast-finishing third: Ribchester, a four-time G1 winner by the time he retired (although beaten a neck at 8/13 on soft ground in the 2017 Sussex).
Stradivarius vs Big Orange
2017 Goodwood Cup
Strange to relate but Stradivarius was not the main crowd pleaser here with Big Orange 6/4 favourite to complete a hat-trick as the Goodwood Cup was raised to G1 status. In retrospect he faced an impossible task attempting to give 13lb to the then 3-year-old, who was set to dominate the staying ranks for the next four years, rattling up a Goodwood Cup four-timer in the process. Not that the gallant Big Orange really let the side down. After a heroic effort in the Gold Cup at Ascot, he was able to establish his habitual lead and didn’t go down without a fight, though Stradivarius – who had shown much improved form to win the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot – was just too strong. He won by a length and three-quarters and a legend was born.