Kingman one-two in the Gr.3 Thoroughbred Stakes

George Strawbridge's homebred Epictetus denied fellow Kingman colt Nostrum in Friday's Gr.3 Thoroughbred Stakes at Goodwood.

Taken from the Thoroughbred Daily News, 5th August 2023:

Last term's Gr.1 Futurity Trophy second, who annexed Epsom's Listed Blue Riband Trial on his three-year-old return, was swiftly into stride from the inside gate and raced under a firm hold in third through the early fractions as Nostrum set the tone up front. Nudged along soon after passing halfway, the 6-1 chance was ridden to go second approaching the final furlong and swept by that rival inside the final 100 yards to prevail by a length from the odds-on favourite in ultimately snug fashion. Charles Hills
trainee and Gr.1 2000 Guineas fourth and Gr.1 Irish 2000 Guineas fifth Galeron was best of the remainder and finished a length and a half further adrift in third.

"Epictetus showed plenty of speed over a mile at two and we thought he was a horse who would progress to 10 furlongs this year, but that did not pan out," explained Thady Gosden. "He has run good races, but not what we thought that he was capable of. It was a perfect ride from Frankie. He broke well, sat him on the fence and followed Ryan [Moore]. Nostrum is a very smart horse, but Frankie gave our horse a brilliant ride.

He continued: "Epictetus ran a very good race last year [in the Futurity Trophy] at Doncaster when second to a future Derby winner on soft ground. He is bred to like a little
bit of give in the ground. It is slightly less tacky today and a bit more good to soft." Looking ahead, Gosden continued: "There is a mile race back here, the [Gr.2] Celebration Mile, which fits in well."

Dettori, who extended his winning-most record in the race to seven, added: "We tried Epictetus three times over 10 furlongs and we always had an excuse. John and Thady found this race over a mile and the favourite looked very hard to beat. I had a good passage and, once I got the gap [inside the final quartermile], it was up to me to do the rest."

He added: "Ryan wasn't stopping and my horse showed a turn of foot. Now we've got the distance right, we can concentrate on mile races. He is ready to go up in grade and the Celebration Mile in three weeks springs to mind. There are lots of races in the autumn at Newmarket, and maybe over Arc weekend. He has beat a decent field today in style and we can make big plans.@