Highfield Princess belatedly opened her account for the campaign with a runaway victory in the King George Qatar Stakes at Goodwood.
John Quinn's superstar mare won three times at Group One level last term, landing the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville, the Nunthorpe at York and the Flying Five at the Curragh.
She had to make do with minor honours in her first three outings of this season, but having placed in both the King’s Stand and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot in June she was the 4-9 favourite to get back on the winning trail.
Those who took the cramped odds about the six-year-old will have had few concerns for the duration of the five-furlong contest, with Highfield Princess initially taking a lead Czech raider Ponntos before bursting to the lead.
White Lavender came from out of the pack and just briefly threatened to make a race of it, but Highfield Princess found another gear in the last half-furlong under her regular partner Jason Hart and had three lengths in hand at the line.
Highfield Princess stamps her class in the feature Group 2 King George @Q_REC Qatar Stakes with the talented mare powering clear for a dominant success in the hands of @jasonhart13 for the @johnquinnracing team. pic.twitter.com/NP3ImkrPuR
— Goodwood Racecourse (@Goodwood_Races) August 4, 2023
Hart said: "She was her usual self, jumped well, travelled great and was much the best.
"The Czech horse gave me a lead and I was kind of hoping he would give me a lead a bit further. I had to commit a furlong and a half down and on that dead ground I thought it might blunt her turn of foot, but she has won well.
"It’s nice to get a win next to her name. She ran her heart out in those two races at Royal Ascot for her to bounce back and get her head back in front and win by a bit of distance, it was nice to see.
"I am very grateful to be associated with her. For my career, I was never a Group One winner until her, and for her to come along last year and win three Group Ones, it took my career to a new level."
Highfield Princess shortened as favourite for the Nunthorpe on 25 August and Quinn is looking forward to seeing her defend her crown.
"She’s run another fantastic race. We decided we’d give her a break, which we did last year and we were pleased with her at home," said the Malton-based trainer.
"She’s a top-class filly and we’re delighted to have her. As a two-year-old she was a backward filly but very likeable, she’s improved for racing and went from being a top-class handicapper into being probably the best sprinting filly in Europe, if not the world, last year.
"I was very keen for her to get her head in front, for herself. Today would have done her a lot of good.
"The plan is to go back for the Coolmore Nunthorpe, in our back yard. She really likes the Curragh, we’ll take it race by race, but the Nunthorpe is next and hopefully on to Ireland for the Flying Five. We’ll see after that."
Epictetus (6-1) inflicted a shock defeat on the much-vaunted Nostrum to land the Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes.
Winner of his first two juvenile starts before finishing third in the Dewhurst, the Michael Stoute-trained Nostrum was considered a legitimate Classic contender at the start of the year before injury ruled him out of the first half of the season.
Having made a dominant comeback in the Listed Sir Henry Cecil Stakes at Newmarket last month, there was talk of a tilt at Group One glory in the Sussex Stakes, but connections instead elected to take another step forward in this Group Three contest.
For much of the one-mile journey the race appeared to be going according to script, with Ryan Moore adopting the same pacesetting tactics which worked so impressively at Newmarket three weeks ago aboard the market leader – but it was a clear with a furlong to run he had a race on his hands.
Having sat in Nostrum's slipstream throughout, the John and Thady Gosden-trained Epictetus produced the better finishing kick of the pair and passed the post with a length in hand under Frankie Dettori.
Epictetus returns to winning ways in the Group 3 @bonhams1793 Thoroughbred Stakes, with Kingman colt scooting past Nostrum inside the final furlong to score under a cool ride from @FrankieDettori for the Gosden team. pic.twitter.com/ayjhtbWyae
— Goodwood Racecourse (@Goodwood_Races) August 4, 2023
The redoubtable Hamish (5-6F) bagged his sixth win at Group Three level in the l'Ormarins King’s Plate Glorious Stakes.
The lightly-raced seven-year-old had won eight of his 16 previous starts in all, most recently pipping Scriptwriter to success in the John Smith’s Silver Cup at York three weeks ago.
Trainer William Haggas declared Hamish for a stellar renewal of the King George at Ascot last weekend, but fast ground scuppered his participation and he instead arrived at Goodwood as favourite in the hands of Tom Marquand.
Ridden patiently in midfield for much of the mile-and-a-half-contest, the son of Motivator – who is owned by the trainer’s father, Brian – burst into it late before powering to a four-length verdict over Jack Darcy, with the winner’s stablemate, Candleford, best of the rest in third.
Class prevails in the Group 3 @lkp_ct Glorious Stakes as Hamish finds top gear inside the final furlong to win going away in the hands of @TomMarquand for trainer @WilliamHaggas. pic.twitter.com/tubJZ0kSep
— Goodwood Racecourse (@Goodwood_Races) August 4, 2023
