Trueshan heads 36 entries in a bid to win a third successive Long Distance Cup

Trueshan has come out of last week’s Qatar Goodwood Cup third in good shape and trainer Alan King now has his eyes on a historic third successive win in the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup, which has attracted a high-class entry of 36.

The six-year-old was hugely impressive here in 2020 when gaining a career-first win in Group company and went on to win last year’s Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup and Prix Du Cadran before gaining his second QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup last October.

Soft going has been in short supply this year, and while Trueshan did well to finish on the heels of Kyprios and Stradivarius on quicker ground last Tuesday at Goodwood, it was some way below the level of his win 12 months previously.

For any horse to go back and win a race for a third time is terrific

King said: “The Long Distance Cup is a Group 1 in all but name and the two occasions Trueshan has won it already have been very special days, so it’s his main autumn target again. You would hope he’d get the softer conditions he enjoys best, and I’d relish the chance of meeting Kyprios again on our preferred ground, as Goodwood showed there’s not that much between them. For any horse to go back and win a race for a third time is terrific, so to do it in a race as good as this would be extra special. 

“Before that there’s hopefully either York or Doncaster, and then the Cadran again, but he won’t go anywhere now until he gets some soft ground. We got away with it in the Goodwood Cup and he’s been fine since, but he’s not quite as good on that ground and you can’t keep running him on it.”

Kyprios, who had first announced himself on the Cup scene in emphatic fashion in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot six weeks earlier, is also a probable runner, but the 2018 QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup winner Stradivarius is not certain to take part.

Trainer Aidan O’Brien, who has multiple entries, said: “Kyprios will go to the Irish St Leger first and then we will look at the Long Distance Cup at Ascot. He has form on soft ground so that wouldn’t bother him too much.”

A final farewell for Strad?

The Long Distance Cup is not ruled out for Stradivarius, who has been a regular in the race, but retirement is looming and he is ground dependent.

Joint trainer Thady Gosden said: “The decision will be up to Bjorn Nielsen and Stradivarius himself, but he ran a big race at Goodwood and he’s still enjoying his training and his racing. He’s an extraordinary horse, and so long as he’s still in love with it he’ll keep running in these races.”

Last year’s Derby and St Leger runner-up Mojo Star, who has been saved for an autumn campaign since getting to within half a length of Kyprios in the Gold Cup on his reappearance, is a key entry from the Richard Hannon stable.

The dual Irish St Leger winner Search For A Song, who finished second in 2020 and is an older sister of Kyprios, is also among the entries once again, as is last year’s runner-up Tashkhan.