Leading Stayer Stradivarius could be dropping back in trip to head to Newmarket and compete in the rescheduled Coronation Cup as a prep run ahead of his hat-trick bid for the Ascot Gold Cup at the royal meeting.
The six year old has been the poster boy for the UK staying division for the last three seasons landing 10 races in a row including winning a Weatherbys-sponsored £1million bonus in the last two seasons after landing the Yorkshire Cup, Ascot Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup and Lonsdale Cup at York.
Stradivarius lost his unbeaten record, that stretched back to May 2018, when being pipped in a photo finish on Champions Day at Ascot in the Long Distance Cup by the Aidan O'Brien trained Kew Gardens.
He was beaten by a nose that day and the Gosden team are very much thinking about putting that right when the two meet at Royal Ascot in mid June for the horses main target in the Gold Cup.
Stradivarius - class, guts and now back-to-back Cartier Stayer of the Year... #CartierAwards pic.twitter.com/nWgNBYL9p5
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) November 13, 2019
However, before that the Bjorn Nielsen owned horse will need a prep run and with not many options on the table before the festival in Berkshire, Stradivarius could be forced to drop down in trip to 12 furlongs and tackle the Group One Coronation Cup that has been moved to Newmarket from Epsom.
The Agaro Stakes at Newcastle on Saturday week is also another option in the offing but it looks as though the Gosden camp might try their hand at the shorter trip in preparation for the future.
(Credit At The Races) Speaking in his blog for Sporting Index, Dettori said: “There’s a possibility that Stradivarius will run in the Coronation Cup on the Friday. “Strad is full of himself, he thinks he’s a stallion and is looking really well.
“His main target is obviously the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, but John felt that a prep race before then would do him plenty of good.”