Term Of Endearment successfully stepped up in class in the Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes at Goodwood.
Henry de Bromhead’s mare had already won twice at Group Three level this season, landing the Give Thanks Stakes at Cork and most recently the Bronte Cup when providing Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning jockey Rachael Blackmore with a notable success on her first ever visit to York.
Testing the water at Group Two level for the first time on the Sussex downs, Term Of Endearment was a 15/2 shot in the hands of Billy Lee and finished with gusto over the one-mile-six-furlong trip to get the better of Night Sparkle by three-quarters of a length.
Term Of Endearment and Night Sparkle (left) fight it out to the finish
River Of Stars was third, with Caius Chorister weakening into fourth after making much of the running.
For the second year in succession, Free Wind proved bitterly disappointing as the 11/4 favourite, this time trailing home last of eight runners.
Al Aasy sneaks through for Glorious triumph
Al Aasy overcame a troubled passage to claim top honours in the Coral Glorious Stakes at Goodwood.
The William Haggas-trained gelding was a 3/1 shot to claim his fifth victory at Group Three level, with Karl Burke’s Aimeric the marginal favourite at 5/2.
Al Aasy, who came close to Group One glory when narrowly beaten by Pyledriver in the 2021 Coronation Cup, was travelling comfortably best of the five-strong field as the race hotted up, but was all dressed up with nowhere to go a furlong out in the hands of Jim Crowley.
However, just when another Goodwood hard-luck story was being written, a gap opened up on the far rail and Crowley’s mount quickened up smartly to take it and he was ultimately well on top as he passed the post with a length in hand over Relentless Voyager.
Phantom Flight was a neck further behind in third, with Aimeric a little disappointing in fourth.
“It was a messy race,” said Crowley. “We went very steady, which we knew we would. I got a bit closer at the top of the hill and then I was quite happy when he was in a pocket.
Al Aasy makes his move inside the final half-furlong
“William said to ride him for luck and if it opens up, it opens up. We just needed that gap and I was very fortunate to have got up the rail.
“There wasn’t a lot of room up the rail and, in fairness to the horse, he was very brave. Once he was in there, it was game over really.
“He’s just as good over 10 furlongs as he is over a mile and a half. He has been a bit unlucky because that’s his run style.
“Obviously, he has been called a few names in the past for not being a battler. He is just one of those horses who has to be produced at the last minute.
“William said if you get beat riding for luck, it’s one of those things. When a trainer says that to you, it takes the pressure off a little bit.”
Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell, added: “It was always going to be a hard race for Jim to ride because William is adamant that this horse likes to have something to aim at and he doesn’t want him making the running or being too handy.
“We knew there wasn’t going to be much pace and you need all the luck to go with you on those occasions.
“As Jim said, they slowed it up coming up the hill, so he didn’t want to be single file sitting out the back if they quickened, so he let him slide up the inside but then you are in the hands of good fortune and the racing Gods, particularly here.
“The horse has still got the class and luckily when he did squeeze through, he quickened up and doesn’t even know he’s had a race.
“William has always had a huge opinion of the horse. People keep knocking him but he’s won nearly £400,000 and I wouldn’t mind a few more like that.”
Align The Stars enters Leger picture
A tilt at the St Leger could be on the agenda for Align The Stars after digging deep to complete his hat-trick in the Coral Summer Handicap at Goodwood.
The record-breaking Mark Johnston had saddled four of the last 10 winners of the one-mile-six-furlong contest before fully handing over the reins to his son Charlie last year.
Align The Stars was a 100/30 joint-favourite to strike gold for the current licence holder at Kingsley House following successive wins at Thirsk and Haydock and he refused to bend under a typically well-judged ride from Joe Fanning.
Align The Stars heads for home
Having been sent straight to the lead, the challengers were queuing up to have a pop at the Sea The Stars colt halfway up the straight and he briefly looked in trouble after being passed.
However, with the far rail to help, Align The Stars gritted his teeth to wrestle back the advantage and he had just enough in the tank to repel the other joint-favourite Fairbanks by a neck.
“He’s a grand horse. He wasn’t doing a lot up the straight until Oisin (Murphy, on Fairbanks) came to me, then he picked up and was always just doing enough,” said Fanning.
“He’s won well in the end and hopefully there is more to come. He has a great attitude.”
Johnston said: “It was good, but it certainly wasn’t plan A and they aren’t tactics (front-running) we’ll look to replicate again.
“He’s huge, for a start, and quite literally he barely fits in the stalls. If you look back at his races at the start of the year, he was really struggling with the first 50 yards to get out and get into stride, and as a result he was always finding himself in pretty difficult positions.
“That definitely cost him races at York and Hamilton.
“He’s got better in that regard but Joe still has to be very aggressive in that first 50 yards to get a good position.
“It wasn’t the plan to be making the running and it was only when horses actually came to him and didn’t get away from him that I knew he was going to come back strong – and so he did.”
Paddy Power cut Align The Stars, whose full-brother Al Aasy won the preceding Glorious Stakes, to 20-1 from 25-1 for next month’s St Leger – and his trainer is keen on a crack at Classic glory.
“I was quite prepared to run him in the Gordon if it was the only option available to us, but I think a mile and a half on this ground would have been too sharp a test for him, so when there was the option to run over a mile and six on this ground, we felt we could away with it,” he added.
“Tony (Farmer, owner) has always dreamed of York and if you had asked us at every stage this season, the Melrose was probably the pinnacle for this year, but he’s probably gone beyond that race now.
“He’s in the Voltigeur, the Lonsdale Cup and he’s in the St Leger. It’s going to require another fair step up to be competitive at that level but I have enough faith in the horse that it’s a realistic aim.
“He still hasn’t raced over a relentless mile and six and I think stamina is what is going to bring this horse to the next level.”