In the second race of a heart-stirring Qipco Champions Day at Ascot the unthink-able happened: on Britain’s favourite stayer Stradivarius, winner of his previous ten races, the King of Ascot Frankie Dettori got beaten. In fact, in going down by just a nose to Aidan O’Brien’s St Leger winner Kew Gardens on heavy ground that blunted his ability to quicken, Stradivarius probably ran as well as he has ever done. Trainer John Gosden and owner Bjorn Nielsen had thought of pulling him out of the contest on such soft ground but they sportingly took the view that, ‘It is Champions Day and you let the day down if you don’t run Stradivarius.’ No insult to Kew Gardens, who proved once again that his sire Galileo’s progeny never give up the fight, but fortunately horses don’t think as we do and the best moment of a fabulous racing day for me was when John Gosden told us later that Stradivarius thought he had won anyway, having come back with the trademark neigh he utters after his victories.
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