Goodwood report and previewProclamation narrowly foiled Soviet Song in a thrilling finish to the Cantor Spreadfair Sussex Stakes at a wet and misty Goodwood yesterday.
The three-year-old colt, ridden by Mick Kinane and trained by Jeremy Noseda, came from last to first to take the Group One feature over a mile.
The son of King's Best (3 to 1) burst into the lead a furlong out and did enough to keep last year's winner at bay by half a length.
The Aidan O'Brien-trained Ad Valorem was two and a half lengths further away in third.
Kinane deliberately missed the kick on Proclamation and dropped his horse out at the rear of the field with Soviet Song also at the back. Kieren Fallon set the pace on Ad Valorem with Mac Love and Kandidate close up.
Ad Valorem stuck to his task well when joined by the pack three furlongs out, but he had no answer to Proclamation's finishing thrust. Soviet Song stayed on strongly without ever quite getting to the winner. "I went a bit sooner than anticipated because I was always going to be the last to play my cards," said Kinane. "But the opportunity arose for me to make my move, fly down and get Johnny (Murtagh on Soviet Song) as he was moving through and hold him a bit. He is a high-class colt."
A thrilled Noseda said: "He's got a huge turn of foot and loads of talent."
Soviet Song's trainer James Fanshawe said: "She is still the queen but Proclamation was king today.
"The trouble was that on this holding ground you can't quicken up as well as on faster ground. We'll see how she comes out of the race, but we've got the Breeders' Cup in mind at the end of the season."
Meanwhile, Lost Soldier Three can win the war for punters in the big race on day three of the Glorious Goodwood meeting. Luca Cumani's gelding is a fast-improving young stayer who more than deserves the raise in class to the Group Two Lady O Goodwood Cup after a clear-cut success at York last month.
A progressive handicapper last season, Lost Soldier Three won three times and ran well on a number of occasions. After a promising debut this term, the four-year-old headed to the Knavesmire for a Listed handicap, where he only got up by a head. However, he seemed to race lazily that day and could have been value for more than his winning distance suggests.
Cumani has suggested Lost Soldier Three could be a Cup horse and, given that he will enjoy the prevailing soft ground, this will be one of the best chances he gets to be proved right.
Moss Vale has run well in defeat on plenty of occasions this season and can grab a deserved victory in the Audi Stakes. He has been second in three different Group Three races in his time and was a creditable third to Chineur in the King's Stand Stakes at the Royal meeting. Barry Hills' son of Shinko Forest goes on any ground and ran a respectable race in the Darley July Cup despite not getting a clear passage.
Tartouche gets the nod to provide Lady Herries with a popular locally-trained success in the Lillie Langtry Fillies' Stakes.
The winner of a Newmarket handicap on her seasonal bow, Tartouche has improved, finishing second in a Listed affair at Haydock before taking a close third in a German Group Three earlier this month. The winner on that occasion, Gonbarda, has gone on to win a Group One.
Shrewd trainer Mark Prescott's decision to put the classy Comic Strip in the ladbrokes.com Stakes Heritage Handicap is worthy of note. The Marju colt has some solid efforts to his name from his juvenile campaign, and Prescott clearly thinks this is a good chance for him, even off top-weight.
