'The track should suit' - Gosdens out to maintain their unbeaten record in the Gordon Richards Stakes

John and Thady Gosden are unbeaten in this race since they became a training duo, winning the last two runnings, and they are represented this year by Israr who, like last season's victor Mostahdaf, races in the Shadwell colours.

Mostahdaf emerged as a genuine Group 1 horse after his success 12 months ago but Israr doesn’t appear to be at the same level. He comes here following four straight defeats and was well beaten in Doha on his last outing.

However, he is the highest-rated on both BHA and Racing Post Ratings, and if he can return to the form he showed when winning the 1m4f Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket last year he will be tough to beat. This race is over two furlongs shorter though.

Connections have reached for first-time blinkers in a bid to sharpen him up for this speedier test, but the Gosdens' strike-rate drops from 21 per cent to 16 per cent with runners wearing that headgear for the first time since their first runner in Britain as a team in April 2021.

If there is a future Group 1 winner in the field then it’s likely to be one of the less-exposed runners. The four-year-olds Desert Hero and Flying Honours should be considered among them, while Okeechobee is still very lightly raced for a five-year-old.

Desert Hero was third in the St Leger over more than half a mile further, so maybe trainer William Haggas is using this race as a prep for bigger targets over longer trips in time. 

Flying Honours and Okeechobee have both shown their best form at this distance, so this race is likely to be their chief early season aim, and Ryan Moore is an eyecatching jockey booking for Harry Charlton on Okeechobee. Moore is 1-1 for the fledgling trainer.
Analysis by Graeme Rodway

Going details

"We've been basically dry since the drizzly spells on Tuesday," said Sandown's clerk of the course Andrew Cooper on Thursday morning, adding: "We think we're potentially at risk of some showers on Thursday afternoon and evening but if we see them they're expected to be light in nature. 

"Friday should be a dry day, although there is a slight shower risk. The round course is good, good to soft in places on the round course and good on the five-furlong sprint course. The slightly slower ground is round the bottom bend, and on the home straight on the round course."

What they say

Ralph Beckett, trainer of Artistic Star
He's well and this looks like a good starting point for him.

William Knight, trainer of Checkandchallenge
He's training well. Our horses have just been needing their first run but he's done as much as we wanted to at home. He's in good form and we're hopeful he'll run a big race.

William Haggas, trainer of Desert Hero
A stiff mile and a quarter will be perfect for his first start of the year. He's got a bit of speed and I suspect he'll be staying on well at the finish.

Charlie Appleby, trainer of Flying Honours
He hasn’t run since May so there will be some improvement to come from whatever he does here. A mile and a quarter is a good starting point, although we'll be looking at stepping him up in trip afterwards. We're hoping for a nice comeback run that we can build on.

Thady Gosden, joint-trainer of Israr
He ran on ground that was a bit quick for him in Qatar last time and hopefully this surface will suit him better in what looks a hot race. He's back to a mile and two furlongs but the track should suit him and we've been pleased with him since he returned from the Middle East.

Barry Mahon, racing manager to Juddmonte, owners of Okeechobee
He was a long time off the track with an injury but he made a good comeback at Kempton and ran a good race behind Dubai Honour. He's come out of the race well and although a horse with his rating and profile is not the easiest to place, this looked the next logical step. It'll be interesting to see if he can improve on his first run.
Reporting by Jonathan Harding

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