Noble Mission fires in Bet365 Gordon Stakes at Glorious Goodwood
Noble Mission accomplished the mission in a great fashion, earning a close victory in the Group 3 Bet365 Gordon Stakes at Goodwood on Tuesday, July 31st. Sir Henry Cecil's three-year-old demonstrated a wonderful show, holding off Encke exceptionally
well.
By winning the big event, the Khalid Abdulla-owned has established himself as a strong contender for this season’s Ladbrokes St Leger. Noble Mission, Frankel’s full-brother, held up in the beginning, but did not lose his determination.
In the hands of Tom Queally, he switched left and made a wonderful effort to come to the front row well before the finishing line. After making himself prominent, he kept running well to lead over 1f out.
Although the bay colt was strongly challenged inside the final furlong, he retained his disputed lead until the end. An all out effort helped the dashing runner win on nod.
Encke kept the champion under plenty of pressure all the way through. Under Mickael Barzalona, the Mahmood Al Zarooni-trained tracked the leaders early on, and went second over 5f out.
The 8-1 chance was in total command at one stage, but could not preserve his advantage. He railed gamely to dispute lead virtually throughout the final furlong, but since luck was not on his side, the 3-year-old missed the glory by a nose.
The pair battled hard for the first prize, whereas the rest of the pack was well behind. The 6-4 favourite, Michelangelo, ended up third by two and a quarter lengths. Girolamo finished fourth, while the fifth place went to Minimise Risk.
After riding Noble Mission to victory, Queally said: "You never really know (in a photo), but my head was down at the right stage. He dug deep when it mattered. He takes you there too easily. I'd planned to take my time a little bit, but when you get him
alight there's no taking him back."
Teddy Grimthorpe, racing manager to owner Khalid Abdullah, added: "I think Henry would want to take him to the Great Voltigeur at York just to test those credentials, but in principle I think that (the St Leger) would be the idea, yes. He's certainly matured
- not only mentally but physically as well.”
Tags: