Memories of Mayson as Coppull gets Highfield Farm back in the big-time at Goodwood

As the heavens opened at Goodwood at the end of the Markel Richmond Stakes, memories of a notable part of the DNA in the winning colt Coppull resurfaced.

The homebred by David and Emma Armstrong's Highfield Farm in Lancashire is out of a winning mare by Mayson, who slogged through badly rain-softened ground at Newmarket to lift the 2012 July Cup and earn himself a position at stud.

This Group 2 win is by some way Mayson's most significant as a broodmare sire in the few seasons in which his daughter have supplied runners. With Thursday's victory, Coppull became the stallion's first stakes winner as a broodmare sire, while his daughters have produced 30 winners in total. 

The Invincible Spirit stallion was retired to Cheveley Park Stud after having one final outing when a narrow runner-up in the Prix de l'Abbaye and has earned respect as a value option for speed, albeit without a great deal of major winners. 

It was announced in 2023 that the Armstrongs had come to a new arrangement to stand Mayson at Springfield House Stud in Ireland, where his fee has been €4,250.

Clive Cox trains the first two foals out of Springwood Drive, a dual winning sprinter for Tim Easterby. Worthington Lake, by Mehmas, picked up a nursery at Southwell in mid-November and was a reasonable third at Haydock a fortnight ago.

Coppull's damsire Mayson won the July Cup in the red Armstrong silksCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Coppull is by Bated Breath and has done nothing wrong, scoring on debut at Leicester before leading the near side pack home when third behind Gstaad in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot. The Armstrong family bought Coppull's granddam, Ocean Boulevard, from the Tattersalls July Sale for 20,000gns in 2015 when she was carrying Springwood Drive. A Danehill Dancer homebred for Meon Valley Stud and a half-sister to Lingfield Derby Trial winner Alessandro Volta, she traces back to its celebrated foundation mare Reprocolor.

"He's very quick and he did that really well," Cox told Racing TV. "For Sophie [the couple's daughter] and David Armstrong, breeding these horses as well as winning these sort of races…there's a lot of years' work gone into those families and it gives me a great thrill to do it.

"Winning the Richmond - I never thought of it being like this but another very good memory."

It was Cox's third winner in a race, having already generated two stallions out of it. Supremacy, who went on to claim the Middle Park, is having his first runners from Yeomanstown Stud while Golden Horde, who claimed a Group 1 title in the Commonwealth Cup, has had two crops on the track from his stint at Montfort et Preaux.

The result was providing Juddmonte stalwart Bated Breath with his 16th individual Group winner. Springwood Drive has a yearling filly by A'Ali and a filly foal by Perfect Power.

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