Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner Midday tries to get back on the winning track at Goodwood on Saturday, but her task in the Group 1, $310,000 Nassau Stakes is a tough one as she must contend with a pair of dangerous French raiders in Stacelita and Rosanara.
Trained by Henry Cecil for Juddmonte Farms, Midday lost nothing in defeat when 1 3/4 lengths second to Sariska in the Group 2 Middleton Stakes at York in her May 13 seasonal debut. She is Ladbrokes’s 9-4 favorite for the 1 1/4-mile Nassau, but in Stacelita she is meeting the winner of the 1 1/4-mile, Group 3 La Coupe against males. Rosanara was supplemented to the Nassau by the Aga Khan after a sharp second to her Alain de Royer-Dupre-trained stablemate Sarafina in the French Oaks. Strawberrydaiquiri, the winner of the 1 1/8-mile, Group 3 Dahlia Stakes, should appreciate the added furlong.
Borderlescott wins; Starfish Bay 10th
Borderlescott got the job done in the end as he came late to win the Group 2 $155,000 King George Stakes on Thursday, but Starfish Bay’s Goodwood dreams went up in smoke as she faded to finish 10th of 15, 4 1/4 lengths behind the victorious 9-2 favorite.
Kieren Fallon found a way through a wall of horses to get the 8-year-old gelding Borderlescott up in time by a half-length from Group Therapy, as Astrophysical Jet filled the third spot a head farther back. The time for the straight five furlongs on good to firm ground was 57.22, or 1.21 seconds off the track record.
Starfish Bay, Todd Pletcher’s first runner in Europe, was away a bit slower than usual, tracking the pace in fifth under Frankie Dettori, who was hard at work on the filly approaching the quarter pole. She had little left in the tank as the closers inched past her through the final furlong.
The two-time winner of the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes, Borderlescott will go for a third straight title in that race at York on Aug. 20. He is trained by Robin Bastiman.
* The 8-1 Illustrious Blue was the hard-fought winner of the Group 2, $155,000 Goodwood Cup, a race that was marred when the longtime leader and 4-6 favorite Age of Aquarius broke down a half-mile out in the two-mile contest. That left the 33-1 Electolyser in front, but the William Knight-trained Illustrious Blue wore him down under Jim Crowley to win by 1 1/4 lengths, clocking 3:22.35.
The winner three back of the two-mile Group 3 Sagaro Stakes, Illustrious Blue was winning at Goodwood for the seventh time in 14 starts.
