The most revered European horses are the ones who excel at 1 1/2 miles. Then come the top milers, and at Royal Ascot the 3-year-old colt Field of Gold emerged as the current king of that division.
His electric burst of acceleration in the stretch blew apart the St. James's Palace Stakes (G1), leaving a top-class field in the odds-on favorite's wake.
Runner-up Henri Matisse, winner of the French Two Thousand Guineas (G1) and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1), was 3 1/2 lengths behind the gray thunderbolt. Third-place Ruling Court, hero of the English Two Thousand Guineas (G1), was 3 3/4 lengths farther back in the strung-out field.
“That was something special, and the best I've seen since Frankel," said Racing Post handicapper Graeme Rodway, referencing the 14-for-14 all-time great who retired in 2012. “Field of Gold was in a different league, and it will take a mighty performance to beat him.”
Six seemingly overmatched opponents will oppose the son of champion miler and standout sire Kingman in the Sussex Stakes (G1) Wednesday (July 30) at Goodwood, one of the world's most storied and beautiful tracks. Finishing first in the “Win and You're In” Breeders' Cup Challenge race will earn a berth in the BC Mile (G1) Nov. 1 at Del Mar.
“Field of Gold has been a grand horse to train,” said John Gosden, winner of the inaugural Mile in 1984. “He's done nothing but thrive this year. At Ascot he was absolutely wonderful to behold. He does have that great turn of foot, and let's hope we get a clear run, and he can produce it on that day.”
Sussex Stakes Odds: Field of Gold is 2-5
He's 2-5 in the early line, so maybe the way to squeeze some value out of the Sussex is to concede the victory to Field of Gold and to play Henri Matisse and Rosallion underneath in exactas.
Post time is 10:05 a.m. ET.
For those bet horse racing, here's a horse-by-horse analysis:
Three-time Grade 1 winner in the U.S. finished a distant sixth behind Docklands and Rosallion in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot. That was his European debut, and he showed little at surprisingly short odds of 6-1, which was a serious underlay. These milers are much tougher than the ones he faced in America and can't see him making any impact here.
Gets no respect from the oddsmakers despite pulling off a 14-1 upset by nosing out Rosallion in the Queen Anne. That was Docklands' first stakes victory in 11 tries, and he's never faced a colt as good as Field of Gold. If you didn't score with Docklands last time, don't jump on him here.
What's he doing in this race? He ran 27th of 30 last time in the mile Royal Hunt Cup. It's his graded stakes debut and he's being asked to compete with three Group 1 winners. No chance.
Two-time Group 1 winner last year is 0-for-2 (second, third) at that level as a 3-year-old. Did he peak at 2? Maybe. Needs Field of Gold to regress dramatically, but not many think that will happen. Worth a small win bet and belongs in exactas.
Earned a chorus of superlatives by crushing the St. James's Palace, and anything remotely close to that performance would be good enough to win. It's his race to lose. One caveat: Field of Gold has never run at Goodwood, a quirky, right-to-left course with a lot of undulations, and John Gosden expressed mild concern.
“The Sussex is a different test of a horse,” he said. “It runs down into a dip, swings up and around. It's very different than the round mile of Ascot or the Curragh, that's for sure.”
Steady but unspectacular colt was a respectable but well-beaten second behind Field of Gold last time. He'll have to do about four lengths better, which is a tough ask. On the plus side, O'Brien and Moore are the world's best trainer-jockey combination, and it would be no surprise if he completes the exacta again.
O'Brien loves to run rabbits to ensure solid fractions for his serious contenders, and this guy is the designated pacemaker for Henri Matisse. He's 0-for-5 on turf and ran 27th and 16th in his last two races, so he's a sacrificial lamb being thrown to the wolves.
