Brown Panther strikes for Series Ambassador Michael Owen

Brown Panther in the winner’s enclosure at Goodwood after his Artemis Goodwood Cup triumph with jockey Richard Kingscote and joint owners Michael Owen and Andrew Black. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

Just a couple of weeks after Michael Owen became a QIPCO British Champions Series Ambassador, he tasted Series glory when Brown Panther ran out the impressive winner of the Artemis Goodwood Cup, race three in the Long Distance division.

Always prominent as No Heretic set a good pace, Brown Panther struck for home with just under two furlongs to run under a fine ride from Richard Kingscote to score by three and a half lengths from Godolphin’s Ahzeemah and German raider Altano.

It was a first Series victory for both Kingscote and Brown Panther’s trainer, Tom Dascombe, whose stables are owned by Owen.

Owen said: "There is a lot of heritage in this race and it’s a fabulous race to win.

"He’s full of stamina. We didn’t want it to be a dawdle and hence we were up there in the box seat, just in case there was no pace. The leader did us a favour and gave us a nice lead.

"He’s galloped all the way to the line. It’s a great training performance from Tom Dascombe and a great ride by Richard Kingscote.

"With football you always feel you’re in some sort of control. You and your team-mates are in control, but this racing game is so tough on the nerves – you’re powerless.

"You send your jockey out to ride and you hope your trainer has got him spot-on. I was a little bit excited.

"We thought about the Melbourne Cup last year and we were thinking about it again this year, prior to this race.

"As long as he didn’t bomb out today we were thinking Irish St Leger and then Melbourne Cup, so, on that performance, I don’t see why we should change our mind."

Kingscote said: "He was stepping up to two miles and I was really confident he’d love the track.

"I was delighted after the first couple of furlongs, just to get a lead.

"It’s brilliant. This is what it’s about and it’s great for everyone in the yard."

Dascombe said: "We probably haven’t done as well as we should have done with him by now.

"I think the horse is helping us because he’s maturing.

"We’ve taken our time and tried to pick races this year. We’ve tried to get him spot-on for each day and it seems to be working a bit better than it was.

"This was the plan, this was the target. Hopefully we’ll move on if he’s all right after this.

"We’ve struggled for top-class horses. We’ve a few horses, but none quite as good as this.

"When you’ve only got a few you need to make them produce the results, so this is massive."