Timeform reaction to Scandinavia's victory in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup

There’s been plenty of ‘spoiler’ chat around the big Flat races in recent times, chiefly surrounding multiple runners from the Aidan O’Brien yard.

And looking at the entries for the Goodwood Cup it did seem a possibility that Illinois was in the field to perhaps try and soften up Trawlerman. After all, Illinois had beaten only one home in the Curragh Cup just nine days earlier and, on this season’s form, it was hard to envisage him playing even a minor role should he be ridden to try and win the race.

As things turned out, it wasn’t Illinois who made things easier for his stable-companion Scandinavia, however, but the riderless Amiloc, who’d parted company with Hector Crouch soon after the stalls opened then spent much of the race zig-zagging around ahead of the field prior to taking a sharp right in front of the duelling market leaders over two furlongs out.

Trawlerman came off much worse than Scandinavia in the incident, forfeiting the lead and plenty of momentum, too, Scandinavia left to power clear in pursuit of the loose horse and coming home fully eight-and-a-half lengths clear of John and Thady Gosden’s eight-year-old, who battled on with typical tenacity to fend off Rahiebb for third.

In truth, it’s stretching it to suggest the finishing order would have been different without the interference, Scandinavia relishing the end-to-end gallop back at two miles and, after stretching his unbeaten run to seven, reinforcing the notion that he’s now the pre-eminent stayer around.

What did Scandinavia achieve in terms of form? Well, that’s not wholly straightforward to ascertain given that Trawlerman was hampered, Rahiebb was all a bit laboured, Lazy Griff didn’t show up for whatever reason and Amiloc’s race was over pretty much as soon as it started.

The early signs are that the time was very good, however, and Scandinavia’s progressive profile also lends itself to taking a positive view of him coming so far clear, a Timeform rating of 128+ now putting him ahead of Trawlerman (the pair were rated the same after their titanic tussle in the Gold Cup) and up alongside O’Brien’s dual Gold Cup/Goodwood Cup winner Kyprios.

Perhaps O’Brien will be tempted to let Scandinavia have a crack at the Prix du Cadran given that’s a race that should enable him to show his full worth granted an out-and-out test, Kyprios famously having won it by 20 lengths as a four-year-old.

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