In the final part of the series, John Ingles outlines the state of play in the staying division based on Timeform ratings.
The staying division for the rest of the year will be all the poorer for the absence of Gold Cup winner Subjectivist (130). His top-class effort, gained by five lengths after he’d shot clear off the home turn, puts him right up with the best stayers of modern times and completed his relentless rise to the top of the staying ranks for Mark Johnston since last autumn. After ending his three-year-old campaign by winning the Prix Royal-Oak at Longchamp, Subjectivist returned in March when routing his field in the Dubai Gold Cup. Sadly, though, Subjectivist sustained a leg injury after Ascot which means he won’t be seen out again this season at least.
That rules out any rematch with the erstwhile top stayer Stradivarius (127) who was odds-on at Royal Ascot to equal Yeats’s feat of winning four Gold Cups but met trouble in running just as Subjectivist was striking for home. Stradivarius’ fourth place in the Gold Cup was his fourth defeat in his last five starts – he landed the odds in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot on his reappearance - a contrast to the dominance he held for so long in the staying division. His bid to put the record straight after Ascot and win a fifth Goodwood Cup had to be shelved because of soft ground but the Lonsdale Cup at York, which he won in 2018 and 2019, might be his next opportunity, though it remains to be seen if he’s still capable of high-class form at the age of seven.
While the rain at Goodwood was bad news for Stradivarius and the Gosden camp, it was particularly welcome for Alan King's stayer Trueshan (126) who’d had to miss the Gold Cup because of the firm going. Last year’s Long Distance Cup winner ran under a huge weight in the Northumberland Plate as an alternative, finishing a highly creditable sixth, and then matched that form when making the most of the absence of the other two leading stayers when a clear-cut winner of the Goodwood Cup. The Prix du Cadran at the Arc meeting should be ideal for Trueshan where he’ll no doubt meet last year’s winner of that contest,<a href="https://www.sportinglife.com/racing/profiles/horse/899537"> Princess Zoe (118), who ran a career best when chasing home Subjectivist in the Gold Cup.
Spanish Mission (121) was another to miss the Goodwood Cup because of the soft ground, but he emerged on the staying scene last season when winning the Doncaster Cup and beat last year’s Queen’s Vase and Irish Derby winner Santiago (117) in the Yorkshire Cup on the way to staying on for third in the Gold Cup where he had to wait even longer than Stradivarius for a clear run. He could be a serious threat to Stradivarius if going back to York for the Lonsdale.
Away He Goes (118) would be one of the top weights if taking up his Ebor entry at York, but he has now run his two best races at two miles, finishing third to Subjectivist in the Dubai Gold Cup and runner-up to Trueshan at Goodwood where he outran his odds of 33/1. Trueshan wasn’t the only one to put up a notable weight-carrying performance in the Northumberland Plate, incidentally, as Mildenberger ran a career-best 118 in finishing a place ahead of Trueshan in fifth.
The Irish have plenty of strength in depth in the staying division in addition to Princess Zoe. Both Twilight Payment (121), winner of last year’s Melbourne Cup, and Search For A Song (119), who won her second Irish St Leger last year before keeping on for second behind Trueshan at Ascot, have high ratings but neither has yet run up to their best this year. Both were placed in the Listed Saval Beg Levmoss Stakes at Leopardstown in May which was won by Emperor of The Sun (119) who has failed to land a blow since at either Ascot or Goodwood. Last year’s Derby third Amhran Na Bhfiann (118) was fourth in the Saval Beg, and while he too has been well beaten since in the Gold Cup and Goodwood Cup, he did make all for a seven-length win in the Curragh Cup in between.
Joseph O’Brien stepped Baron Samedi (121) up in trip for his first two starts this season and he extended his remarkable winning streak to seven races by winning the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan and the Grade 2 Belmont Gold Cup in New York. There was no disgrace in his defeat in the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud last time and he has options back over further in the weeks and months ahead. The other Irish-trained stayer to mention is the filly Lismore (119) who gained her first win since joining Henry de Bromhead from Sir Mark Prescott when winning the Henry II Stakes at Sandown with a much-improved performance last time. She’s another possible for the Lonsdale Cup.
Over in France, Skazino (117), a half-brother to the very smart Skalleti, had claims to being the top stayer at Longchamp in the spring after two Group-race successes but the Aga Khan filly Valia (117), runner-up to Subjectivist in the Royal-Oak last year, turned the tables on him in their latest meeting there in the Prix Maurice de Nieuil.