'I told Ralph he was being ridiculous' - Beckett's belief in Qirat is proved justified in a Sussex that rewrote the record books

He was supposed to run in the handicap on Friday. He may well have won.

In normal circumstances Qirat would have lined up in the Coral Golden Mile, a fiercely competitive £150,000 contest in which he was set to compete off a BHA rating of 102. Fortunately for Ralph Beckett, Richard Kingscote and Qirat's Juddmonte owners, circumstances were not normal going into the Sussex Stakes. They sure as hell were not normal during it.

• 150-1 pacemaker Qirat pulls off historic Sussex Stakes upset to leave Field Of Gold and Goodwood stunned 
• The shock of shocks: how Qirat pulled off an almighty Goodwood surprise and where it went wrong for Field Of Gold

Had Field Of Gold's usual pacemaker Windlord been available to run in Goodwood's greatest race, Qirat would not have been supplemented for the Sussex at a cost of £70,000. The decision to run the Andrew Balding-trained Windlord in Thursday's Gordon Stakes must therefore be considered central to the biggest shock ever recorded in a British Group 1. That said, in the minutes leading up to the off, Beckett was repeatedly telling people Qirat would significantly outrun his 150-1 odds. He could not possibly have been more right.