Connoisseur returns for Stewards' Cup bid
Teasing sprint handicaps are rarely more difficult to unravel than the Qatar Stewards' Cup (15.45), which takes place today at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
Qatar Racing's Suzi's Connoisseur (pictured below on right of field) joins the 28-strong line-up, bidding to improve on his run last year when finishing seventh.
Suzi's Connoisseur, the mount of apprentice Aaron Jones, will race from stall 11 and is drawn next to likely favourite Orion's Bow, who is in pursuit of a sixth straight win. Attempting to work out whether it is better to be drawn high or low will remain conjecture until the race has been run, but a low draw is thought preferable judging by other sprint races run during this year's five-day meeting.
Trainer Stuart Williams says: ‚"Aaron has ridden a winner before for Qatar Racing and takes 5lb off the horse's back. He will give him a nice ride as he's not a horse that likes to be bullied.‚"
Jones is in form, too his two most recent rides having been winners.
Qatar Racing's retained jockey, Oisin Murphy, heads to Doncaster where he rides Strath Burn in a conditions race (16.40). The four-year-old, who is owned in partnership with Ronnie Bartlett, is making his debut start for Robert Cowell's stable.
A Group Three winner last year, Strath Burn also ran a superb race when second in the Gr.1 Sprint Cup, and is tackling a race several grades below that level today.
In France, L'Argent du Bonheur returns to Deauville to run in the Listed Prix Cercle (14.30) for Mikel Delzangles' stable. Vincent Cheminaud rides the three-year-old, who was third in this grade at the track two starts ago.
Yesterday's racing at the Qatar Goodwood Festival was highlighted by the Gr.2 King George Stakes in which Pearl Secret ran for Qatar Racing. Drawn in stall one, he could not find a clear passage when the race began in earnest and the leaders bunched up his side of the track, but he finished strongly, beaten little more than two lengths by the winner in a typically tight finish.
Murphy said: ‚"Pearl Secret was very unlucky. I had loads of horse left when I'd nowhere to go.‚"