Sussex Stakes: what the trainers have to say plus video tip

Field Of Gold bids to continue his sensational summer when he meets his elders for the first time in the Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes.

Narrowly denied Classic glory in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, John and Thady Gosden’s grey has made no mistake in two subsequent starts, demonstrating his dazzling acceleration in both the Irish Guineas and the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

His sire Kingman landed both of those Group One events before completing his hat-trick in this race 11 years ago and Field Of Gold is odds-on to follow suit in the hands of William Buick, who takes over in the saddle from the suspended Colin Keane.

“The horse is athletic, he’s got great balance, and hopefully he’ll handle the track well. It’s very different to the round mile of Ascot or the Curragh, that’s for sure,” said John Gosden.

“He does have that great turn of foot, let’s hope we get a clear run and he can produce it on the day.

“His father won the Sussex in somewhat cheeky fashion, it was an extraordinary race. They literally crawled, then sprinted in the last two furlongs, and fortunately we got it just right on the line.”

Field Of Gold renews rivalry with St James’s Palace runner-up Henri Matisse, who had previously landed the French 2000 Guineas for Aidan O’Brien.

The Wootton Bassett colt has three and a half lengths to find with the hot favourite from their Royal Ascot meeting and O’Brien is keeping his fingers crossed he can at least close the gap.

“So far everything has gone well since Ascot and we’re looking forward to seeing him run,” he said.

“We think he’s gone the right way since Ascot.”

The older brigade is headed by Docklands and Rosallion, who were split by just a nose when second in the Queen Anne Stakes at the Royal meeting.

Harry Eustace, the trainer of Docklands, said: “The track should suit him. He has run there before (in 2023) and to the eye was a little disappointing, but it was his first run off the back of his win in the Britannia and, in hindsight, I don’t know whether I had him 100 per cent.

“He handled Epsom well, so I have no problem with the cambers at Goodwood. The quality of the race might be another matter.

“It can’t be overstated how important he’s been for us for the last three years. We’ll cherish his two wins at Royal Ascot forever.

“We’re a relatively young business and he is by a long way our flagship horse – he has been key to everything that’s happened since.”

Meanwhile, Richard Hannon will be looking to replicate some of the great days his father enjoyed in this race with the likes of Canford Cliffs and Toronado as he runs his stable star Rosallion.

Like Field Of Gold, the son of Blue Point suffered defeat in the 2000 Guineas before landing Classic honours in Ireland and then scoring at Royal Ascot and his loyal pilot Sean Levey is relishing this mouthwatering clash of generations.

He told Ladbrokes: “There’s no doubt Field Of Gold is going to be very difficult to beat, based on what we’ve seen of him so far. He’s an exceptional horse, but I think we have the right attributes to take him on.

“He’s a four-year-old this year which means he has to give away weight, but he’s improved with every run, in my opinion, from the Lockinge to just being denied at Ascot in the Queen Anne. He’s improved, as good horses do, and I know he’s in a really good place coming into this.

“To be fair, I think we were very unlucky to be denied in the Queen Anne by what was literally the flare of a nostril and he ran into a specialist in Docklands, who was very good on the day.

“But Goodwood is a different story altogether and Rosallion is a good horse who has shown his versatility across a number of racetracks.”