High-profile favourites like Courage Mon Ami, Blue Rose Cen and Nostrum beaten at Qatar Goodwood Festival but can they bounce back?

Courage Mon Ami: Still a staying force

It all began on day one. The ground wasn’t too bad then, only good to soft, but that, combined with a remarkable front-running performance from Quickthorn, was enough to derail the Courage Mon Ami express.

John & Thady Gosden’s previously unbeaten son of Frankel came into Goodwood with an Ascot Gold Cup in his back pocket, a feat achieved on just his fourth career start, but lack of experience showed in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup – his first go over two miles.

The warning signs flashed early. He was keen, then on and off the bridle, not particularly happy in the chasing pack that was detached from the runaway winner.

Short of room when he was eventually asked to go and try and make up the ground, very little went right here, resulting in an eight-length sixth, but he remains a leading force in the staying division.

The Long Distance Cup at Ascot on Champions Day looks the obvious route for him, having already proven himself on that track, while it would be unwise to presume he doesn’t handle softer ground on the basis of this performance. That remains up in the air.

Espionage: Loads to prove after Gordon flop

The deluge came Tuesday night into Wednesday, resulting in a going change for day two that included heavy in places (most places, by the looks of things).

That didn’t halt Paddington justifying odds-on favouritism in the Sussex Stakes as he powered to another impressive victory, the shocks held back for day three on the Thursday with the ground now officially soft.

The conditions were thought to be fine for Espionage, indeed he was redirected to Goodwood because the ground changed, and he was backed into 7/4 favourite for Aidan O’Brien in the Group 3 John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes, the son of Galileo having finished a head second in a Saint-Cloud Group 1 on heavy as a juvenile.

Running off level weights, he was 6lb clear of the field on official ratings but put in a really disappointing performance, getting worked up and subsequently very sweaty beforehand which clearly didn’t help his cause.

Forced to race on the outside of the field from stall six, he never looked like getting into contention and was eased home in last, looking anything but a contender for the St Leger.

His dam Even Song regressed after peaking in the June of her three-year-old career in the Ribblesdale and he has plenty to prove now, although he has yet to show what he can do on faster conditions.

Blue Rose Cen: Can bounce back after Lemaitre nightmare

A more surprising shock on the Thursday of Goodwood came in the very next race as Blue Rose Cen’s outstanding winning sequence came to an end in the Qatar Nassau Stakes.

Going for a six-timer and her fourth Group 1, on the back of Classic successes in the Poule d’Essai des Pouliches and Prix de Diane, all of her form was on soft ground and conditions were not the problem.

Instead she was a victim of the old Goodwood traffic curse, Ryan Moore slamming the door on Aurelien Lemaitre as he darted for the inside after the cutaway. ‘Blue Rose Cen is imprisoned on the inside’ exclaimed Simon Holt in commentary, the daughter of Churchill all dressed up with nowhere to go.

We have seen more severe hard-luck stories at Goodwood and, indeed, in this very race (Lush Lashes in 2008, for example), and with Blue Rose Cen not exactly finishing with her customary gusto once in the clear I’d stop short of calling her an unlucky loser.

However, things quite obviously didn’t pan out how Christopher Head and connections would’ve liked and she looks well capable of bouncing back from this blip come the autumn, this performance possibly a reason for connections to keep her racing against her own sex, for now at least.

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Nostrum: Keep the faith despite Epic fail

Nostrum was one of the best-fancied horses of the week at 4/6 for the Group 3 Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes but his bubble was burst by Epictetus who enjoyed dropping back to a mile on softer ground.

There were some long faces from the Nostrum camp afterwards, defeat presumably considered out of the question following his excellent reappearance in Listed class at Newmarket’s July Festival, but he can still be considered a Group 1 winner in the making.

Not all top-class horses can cope with everything thrown at them and here the son of Kingman slightly over-raced on the softest ground he has ever encountered. Time may tell he was beaten by a very good horse who handled the conditions better, Frankie Dettori giving Epictetus a silky ride in the slipstream of the eventual runner-up.

This proves Sir Michael Stoute was right not to have taken on Paddington in the Sussex, that could have really knocked him back given the conditions on Wednesday, but this promising second can still be a stepping stone to bigger things.

It sounds like the Juddmonte team are already looking forward to next year with him and it wouldn’t surprise me if he was put away after going for something like the Group 2 Joel Stakes at Newmarket in September.

However, this graceful mover could be a real force to be reckoned with on much better ground, where he can utilise his high-cruising speed and turn of foot, and I’d love to see him have a crack at the Breeders’ Cup Mile (for which he’s a 20/1 shot at bet365).

It looks unlikely, this year at least, but Stoute won the race for Juddmonte not long ago with Expert Eye who was another who didn’t want bad ground and Nostrum looks tailor made for the race if connections are willing to roll the big dice.

Free Wind: Gosden needs to work the old magic

After a promising reappearance it has been a disappointing season for Free Wind, who ran flat in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot before being turned over at odds-on in the Group 2 Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes on the final day of Goodwood.

The rain was lashing down on heavy ground which immediately raises suspicions over the validity of the form and Free Wind looked to move into contention quite sweetly before floundering in the closing stages.

However, the daughter of Galileo had Group 1 aspirations only a few months ago and such a tilt looks unlikely now as the Gosdens will likely bid to sweeten her back up at a lower level – the Group 2 Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster, which she won by seven lengths in 2021, looks the obvious race for her.

She did have to give the field weight here under a Group 2 penalty and because of the 11lb weight-for-age allowances, a tough task in such heavy ground, so there are reasons to give her another chance despite her form taking a bit of a nosedive.

Maybe Gosden will turn to headgear – her dam raced in cheekpieces and blinkers later in her career – but bouncing back at Group 2 level looks a must for her if she is to eventually try her hand at the highest grade.

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