Moore stays ice cool on Scandinavia to lift Goodwood Cup after loose horse drama

Scandinavia confirmed the form of his Ascot Gold Cup defeat of Trawlerman with a wide-margin win in the Group One Goodwood Cup on Tuesday, but the bare result does not tell the full story of a race in which a riderless horse led the field for much of the way and veered across the leaders with three furlongs to run.

The drama began at the start, where Hector Crouch was unshipped from Amiloc, the jockey catching his foot on the stalls as the horse jinked to the right. The gelding then worked his way to the head of the field with nearly 12 furlongs still to run and, having veered wide on the home turn, drifted sharply across both Scandinavia and Trawlerman soon afterwards.

Scandinavia, the favourite, was a half-length behind Trawlerman at the time and Ryan Moore, his rider, did not stop riding, but William Buick, on Trawlerman, lost all momentum. Scandinavia’s eventual winning margin of eight-and-a-half lengths – with the riderless Amiloc still in front of him – suggests that the result was not affected, but the crowd was certainly denied the spectacle of two top-class stayers battling to the line.

“It’s significant,” Buick said. “It’s hard to say how significant but he’s a horse who is a Gold Cup winner [in 2025], so he stays.

“To try to manoeuvre around a loose horse is never easy and my worry was if I found myself on his outside, I could give away a lot of ground and be on the stands side, theoretically. I went the shortest route and he only got in my way in the most important part of the race.”

Moore, meanwhile, felt that the sight of a horse galloping in a clear lead might have benefited his mount.

“It was nice for him to have a horse to follow all the way,” Moore said. “He probably thinks he got beat. His stride never shortened, he just kept galloping all the way to the line. He’s a high-class horse and hopefully there’s a few more good days to come.”

Lake Forest, who finished fast under Cieren Fallon to take the Group Two Lennox Stakes by a neck, could attempt to complete a remarkable double in the Group One Sussex Stakes here on Wednesday.

“I don’t see why he can’t come here again tomorrow, that’s the plan,” Maureen Haggas, the wife of Lake Forest’s trainer, William, said.

“We’ll see how he is. If we’re happy with him, then why not? He’s a five-year-old gelding and he hasn’t got to travel anywhere. We don’t know about [the step up to] a mile, but he stays seven well.”

Earlier on the card, Kaiya Fraser came up with an early candidate for ride of the meeting as he threaded Oliver Cole’s Dr Rascal through a narrow gap against the far rail to take the Group Two Vintage Stakes by half a length.

Kaiya Fraser and Dr Rascal (left) find a way through for victory. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PA

Fraser, who was born and raised in Hackney, did not sit on a horse until enrolling on a foundation course for apprentice riders at the British Racing School in Newmarket as a 16-year-old.

“It means everything, this is what we wake up for every morning,” Fraser said.

“I’ve put so much hard work in to get where I am today, and all the people around who have helped me - my agent James Forrest, and all the owners and trainers who put me up – I’m very grateful to them and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.”

Echo to follow in hoofprints of Frankel

Bow Echo was the most impressive winner of the 2,000 Guineas since Frankel at Newmarket in May, and he will further enhance his status as one of the finest milers of recent decades if he can extend his unbeaten record to six starts in the Group One Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on Wednesday.

The parallels with the greatest Flat horse of recent decades do not end there, as Bow Echo’s next start was a less convincing success in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot. Frankel soon set the record straight, though, with a decisive success on the Sussex downs and there are sound reasons to think that Bow Echo can do the same.

Bow Echo was hampered in the early stages at Ascot and was lit up in the first half-mile, before being forced wide into the straight. He then held on by a short-head from Gstaad, who was nearly three lengths adrift in second at Newmarket.

Gstaad is back for a third tilt at Bow Echo on Wednesday, but the pacey four-year-old, Opera Ballo, may be a bigger danger from a low draw at a front-runner’s track.

Bow Echo (4.10), though, has several pounds to spare on Charlie Appleby’s colt on the ratings, has also drawn well in one and has scope to improve further after just five starts.

Goodwood 1.50 Tierra Del Toro has been better than the bare result on his last two starts and should be less susceptible to traffic problems in this smaller field.

Goodwood 2.25 Karl Burke’s Wild Blossom should appreciate the slight drop in grade after finishing mid-division in a Group Two at Royal Ascot.

Goodwood 3.00 Last year’s impressive Rockfel winner, Zanthos, has failed to fire so far this season but this return to seven furlongs should suit.

Goodwood 3.35 Adonius has had a break since his win at Chester in early May and will appreciate this speed test.