Subjectivist shines as Stradivarius fails in historic Gold Cup bid
Subjectivist (Teofilio) shattered the Stradivarius (Sea The Stars) dream with a powerful staying performance to win the Gold Cup (Gr 1, 2m 4f) at Royal Ascot yesterday.
Last seen when storming away with the Dubai Gold Cup (Gr 2, 3200m) at Meydan in March, the Mark Johnston-trained galloper emphasised his burgeoning prowess as a top-class stayer in posting a five-length victory over the 28-1 longshot Princess Zoe (Jukebox Jury), with Spanish Mission (Noble Mission) a further half-length behind the winner in third.
Stradivarius was unable to match the great Yeats (Sadler’s Wells) with what co-trainers John and Thady Gosden had hoped would have been a phenomenal fourth Gold Cup triumph. The three-time past winner plugged on to finish fourth under Frankie Dettori, fully seven and a quarter lengths behind Subjectivist. “He ran into trouble and lost all chance,” was Dettori’s assessment.
Subjectivist (4 c ex Reckoning by Danehill Dancer), on the other hand, had a perfect journey, settling a close second under Joe Fanning as the Aidan O’Brien-trained Amhran Na Bhfiann (Galileo) set the tempo, with the Joseph O’Brien-trained Melbourne Cup (Gr 1. 3200m) winner Twilight Payment (Teofilo) tracking in third. Stradivarius raced behind midfield, eighth in the stretched 12-runner field.
The defending champion made progress along the inner as the runners advanced clear of Swinley Bottom but hit traffic approaching the home turn. By then, Fanning and Subjectivist were cutting through the breeze with daylight back to their rivals as first the pace-setter and then Twilight Payment folded and faded.
Three lengths clear into the straight, Subjectivist kept on with unerring resolution to earn a second top flight score, following his triumph in the Prix Royal-Oak (Gr 1, 3100m) at Longchamp last October, and handed his trainer a fourth Gold Cup victory and first since the second of Royal Rebel’s (Robellino) pair in 2002.
“He has been a great horse this year, even last year, he just keeps improving,” said Fanning who was winning the 214-year-old contest for the first time in registering his ninth Royal Ascot success.
“Five out and before the home bend I was able to get breathers into him and fill him up, and I always thought it would take a very good one to get by him.
“In Dubai on the good ground he was doing his best work near the end so I never felt that (stamina) was an issue.”
Johnston, whose first Gold Cup victory was achieved with the popular Double Trigger (Ela Mana Mou) back in 1995, was delighted with the four-year-old who stopped the clock at 4 minutes 20.28 seconds, faster than standard by 1.22 seconds and the fastest since Rite Of Passage (Giant’s Causeway) 11 years ago. The handler paid tribute to his 50-year-old jockey.
“I think it’s his third Group 1 so he’s not new to this,” Johnston said. “He has waited to the twilight of his career and he deserved it long ago. You saw him at his best there.
“It is probably good that the ground remained fast as you don’t see performances like that on soft ground.
“I couldn’t say we were confident, more hopeful. I thought he was the best horse we had taken Stradivarius on with but he had a scare straight after the Dubai race so he missed quite a bit of work and then he fell on the road in Middleham just the other day and his knees and his hocks were skimmed so we have had a few scares along the way. Normally we would have had a race in between.”
Subjectivist runs in the green silks of Hong Kong-based Scotsman Dr Jim Walker, whose other passion is Greenock Morton FC who play in the Scottish Championship.
“It was almost a rerun of the Dubai Gold Cup, I just thought Joe had him and everything is going to have to catch him and that’s hard,” he said. “It is the pinnacle because this is my division – staying – same as Mark, so it’s fantastic.”
Subjectivist was bred by Maskell Stud and was purchased for 62,000gns by Mark Johnston Racing out of Book 2 at the 2018 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, having been consigned by New England Stud.
He is a half-brother to this season’s Jockey Club Stakes (Gr 2, 1m 4f) winner Sir Ron Priestley (Australia), runner-up in the 2019 St Leger (Gr 1, 1m 6 ½f) for Johnston. The pair’s Listed-placed dam, Reckoning (Danehill Dancer), has also produced Alba Rose (Muhaarar), third in the Rockfel Stakes (Gr 2, 7f) for the Johnston operation. It is also the family of Group 1 winners Sholokhov (Sadler’s Wells), Intense Focus (Giant’s Causeway) and Soldier Of Fortune (Galileo).
Subjectivist’s sire, Teofilo (Galileo), stands at Darley’s Kildangan Stud in Ireland at a 2021 fee of €30,000 (approx. AUD$42,285).