Stradivarius and Trueshan could still clash later this season after York no-show

The possibility remains that super stayers Stradivarius and Trueshan could still clash later in the season after both were ruled out of York’s Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup at York yesterday.

John Gosden, joint-trainer of Stradivarius, was the first to withdraw his charge from the Group 2 – officially at 5.56am – owing to a bruised foot.

Alan King, who trains Trueshan, took the same action after walking the course just half an hour before the race and encountering conditions which he considered would be too quick for his stable star.

The extent of the setback suffered by Stradivarius has yet to be revealed but, given a quick recovery, he could well lock horns with his great rival in the Doncaster Cup on September 9, a race he won in 2019 and 2021.

Entries for the Town Moor Group 2 have yet to be made, but both stayers are already engaged in the Group 2 Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup at Ascot in October.

There is also a chance the pair could meet in the Group 1 Prix du Cadran at Longchamp, a race in which Trueshan slammed Stradivarius by four and a half lengths on very testing ground last October.

Ease in the ground is crucial to Trueshan, the highest-rated stayer since Yeats according to Racing Post Ratings, performing to his best.

He revelled in soft ground when landing his two Group 1 wins last year in the Cadran and Goodwood Cup, and King was not willing to risk his six-year-old at York after the forecast overnight rain failed to materialise.

“It’s drying all the time,” King said. “It’s too quick. The wrong call today and he comes back jarred and might miss the Cadran and Ascot, I’m afraid.”

Will Trueshan run in the Lonsdale Cup?Credit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

He added: “It’s definitely dried up since Wednesday. We can’t run.”

Stradivarius, who finished one place in front of Trueshan when going down with all guns blazing by a neck to Kyprios in the Goodwood Cup last month, was set to defend an unbeaten York record.

The winner of all six of his starts on the Knavesmire, he was pulled out at the crack of dawn after Gosden discovered a problem.

“We did a routine check at 5am and found he had heat in his foot,” Gosden said. “We didn’t mess about and spoke to the owner and took him out sharpish before the box left at 5.30. It’s unfortunate, but he’s never missed a dance in his life.”

Stradivarius, winner of 20 of his 35 starts, remarkably had looked almost as good as ever at the age of eight when only narrowly finding new kid on the staying block, Kyprios, too strong for him at Goodwood.

He had also run an excellent race to finish third to Kyprios in the Gold Cup at Ascot when things didn’t pan out for either him or his rider Frankie Dettori.

Bjorn Nielsen, owner of Stradivarius, has suggested since Goodwood that his horse could even race on as a nine-year-old in 2023.

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