Day 3 at the 2024 Qatar Goodwood Festival was lit up by the emergence of Jan Brueghel as a St Leger contender and the tough-as-teak display from Opera Singer in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes, whilst Aidan O’Brien asserted his dominance with a treble on the card.
Away from the obvious headline grabbers, Day 3 also witnessed a quartet of notable firsts, as the following four sires recorded their first-ever winners at the Sussex showstopper.
Complexity
Kicking off the strong US theme to the Goodwood sire success, Complexity raced exclusively in the US during his three seasons at the track, picking up wins over trips ranging from six furlongs to one mile, with the clear highlight being a three-length romp in the Grade 1 Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park.
Complexity’s first crop hit the track in 2024 and made a solid enough start, with five of his 11 juveniles entering the winner’s enclosure. Included in that number was the Michael O’Callaghan colt, Black Forza, who headed to Goodwood on the back of a smooth win in a six-furlong Maiden event at Fairyhouse. Stepped right up in class for the Group 2 Richmond Stakes, he made sure that his sire’s first runner at Glorious Goodwood was a winning one when storming home to deny hot favourite The Strikin Viiking by half a length.
Justify
Thanks to the exploits of the 2024 Derby and Coral-Eclipse winner, the name Justify will be familiar to UK racing fans by now. Sensational at the racetrack, the only blemish on his record came when disqualified in the 2018 Santa Anita Derby despite having come home three lengths clear of the field. The strapping colt responded to that setback in sensational style – winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes to etch his name onto the list of US Triple Crown winners.
Despite making a hugely successful start to life at stud, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Opera Singer represented Justify’s first runner at the Qatar Goodwood Festival as she lined up in a red-hot edition of the Nassau Stakes. Having come up short in Group 1 company in her previous starts in 2024, she found this step up in trip to her liking. Leading from pillar to post under a perfectly judged ride from Ryan Moore, the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe is now in her sights.
Without Parole
Trained by John Gosden, this son of Frankel emerged as one of the most promising juveniles in 2017 when blitzing his maiden opposition at Newcastle. Delivering on that potential with wins in the Heron Stakes and Group 1 St James’s Palace Stakes, he then inexplicably lost his form – failing to win another race in 11 attempts. Nevertheless, as a Group 1 winning son of the greatest racehorse of all time, a career at stud had long since been assured.
Without Parole has made only a so-so start as a stallion, but the Qatar Goodwood Festival saw his second career hit new heights. Catching the eye with an easy win at Newbury in May, Mr Chaplin was pitched straight into Group 2 company for the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, only to find it all too much on his way to a 16th-of-22 finish. Dropped in class for the Jaeger-Lecoultre Nursery Handicap, he found the easier assignment (and the step up to seven furlongs) to his liking – overcoming trouble in running to rocket home inside the final furlong and get up by a neck – handing his sire a first Glorious Goodwood winner at the first time of asking.
American Pharoah
One of the most popular US racehorses of the current century, American Pharoah delighted fans with eight Grade 1 victories, headlined by the US Triple Crown during a near-flawless 2015 campaign. Given his level of ability at the track, it is no surprise that Ballydoyle have opted to send many of their Galileo fillies to the US for a meeting with American Pharoah. Joseph O’Brien’s Group 1 winning mare, Above The Curve, is the best horse to result from that project thus far, but hopes will be high that Dreamy may progress to reach a similar level.
Kept back to make her debut in the Tatler EBF British Maiden Stakes, this daughter of the Yorkshire Oaks-winning dam Tapestry impressed in the paddock but took a while to get the hang of things in the race. However, once the penny dropped inside the final furlong, the response was impressive as she found another gear to reel in long-time leader Bouvier. A step up in class will no doubt be in store for Dreamy, and American Pharoah’s first Glorious Goodwood winner is a name to bear in mind for the remainder of this season and beyond.
