Richard Hannon has had plenty to celebrate already this week but he rolled past 250 winners at Goodwood via the valuable contributions of Montiridge and Wentworth.
Montiridge gave the indication there could be another top-class miler in the stable apart from Wednesday’s Sussex Stakes star Toronado after a conclusive performance in the Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes. Just half an hour later, Hannon was over that particular landmark when nearly-horse Wentworth finally fulfilled his potential by holding off the highly-rated Cape Peron in the Betfred Mile.
Hannon, who has been training for 43 years and was also claiming his 70th winner at the Glorious meeting, said: “I wouldn’t want to be back at one — it’s taken a long time to get this far.”
There are a restricted amount of Group One events at a mile but Montiridge has patently been competing at a level several stages beneath his capabilities. A narrow second in the Jersey Stakes before taking a Newmarket Listed race in his stride, the 5-6 favourite pounced late under the flourishing Richard Hughes to register Group Three honours in similar style, a length and a quarter ahead of Tawhid.
“He’ll be a proper Group One horse,” said the trainer’s son and assistant, Richard jnr. “We’ve gone the quiet route with him but I think he’s up to it on that evidence. Last year and at the beginning of this year he was keen and pulled a lot, but he’s getting a bit of a racing brain on him now.
"He'll stay in training next year and I think he'll be up to races like the Prix du Moulin and Queen Elizabeth II Stakes."
Wentworth (6-1) had failed to deliver in three previous handicap starts, most spectacularly so at the course in May. This time Hughes sprinkled on some of his stardust and found a gap when it mattered to pocket the £80,000 first prize by three-quarters of a length from the 5-1 favourite Cape Peron.
“He deserved that,” said Hughes. “I went to the Britannia at Ascot thinking he had a stone in hand but he never travelled. Today I got into him coming up the hill and I got a good position. That little bit of juice in the ground helped.”
Moviesta, part-owned by QPR manager Harry Redknapp, missed the cut for Saturday's Stewards' Cup but there was more than adequate compensation for the junior sprinter as he powered away from many of the recognised names in the Group Two Betfred King George Stakes.
“Paul (Mulrennan) rode him on Tuesday and said ‘this is a missile’ — you don’t hear that from him,” said trainer Bryan Smart of the 5-1 winner. “The Stewards’ Cup was the aim but we knew he wouldn’t get in and I told the BHA I would declare for both races. He’s in the Nunthorpe, but we’ll let the horse do the talking. I don’t want to wish my life away, but next year I think we’ll really have something on our hands. This is a superstar, I think.”
Mulrennan had a little gloss taken off his big day as the stewards found him guilty of careless riding, in that he allowed his mount to drift continuously left away from the whip without taking corrective action. He was banned for six days.
The remarkable life of Forgotten Voice (3-1) gained another chapter when the mercurial Johnny Murtagh produced him with delicious timing in the Coutts Glorious Stakes.
The veteran recently became a Royal Ascot winner again after a spell hurdling with Nicky Henderson, and actually appeared in a more prestigious race at this meeting before during his time at Jeremy Noseda's.
“He’s a fairytale, an absolute fairytale,” said owner Paul Roy. “He ran here in 2009 in the Sussex, came fourth to Rip Van Winkle, went to Dubai and ran in the World Cup and then got injured. We took him home for two years and brought him back.
“A year ago he was at Market Rasen. I imagine Nicky will want to save him for some big hurdle but I’m going to have to think about retiring him as I want to get him home.”
Silvestre de Sousa, on runner-up Lost In The Moment, got a two-day careless riding ban (August 16-17), and got four more aboard Tawhid (18-20, 24).
