Sussex Stakes super stats: Field Of Gold ticks all boxes

Although Goodwood’s racecourse is one of a kind, where the grandstand sits beside an Iron Age hill fort and the course itself weaves amongst the rolling countryside, the Sussex Stakes has not been a race in which previous experience of the track has been essential.

Indeed, only three of the last 12 winners of the Sussex Stakes had run at Goodwood prior to winning the feature race on day two of the meeting.

It’s no great surprise that this year’s hot favourite Field Of Gold hasn’t been here before – he only broke his maiden tag two weeks before last year’s Glorious Goodwood meeting – but he has made great progress since.

Given his dominance in two Group One starts following a running-on second in the 2000 Guineas, it’s hard not to feel that he should be unbeaten in four starts this season.

Field Of Gold’s wins include the St James’s Palace at Royal Ascot, a race that has provided three of the last 12 Sussex winners. It’s also the race that Rosallionwon last season prior to being a late scratching from this race due to a minor injury.

He’s out for compensation here on the back of a nose defeat to Ascot specialist Docklandsin the Queen Anne, a race that has also provided three winners over the same timeframe.

Given the race’s reputation as the ultimate clash of the different age groups over a mile, it’s no surprise that official ratings of the winners have been high, with 15 of the last 17 winners rated at 119 or higher at the time of their victories.

As well as Field Of Gold and Rosallion, the only other runner who fits that criterion this year is Henri Matisse, the French 2000 Guineas winner who chased home Field Of Gold last month.

He’s respected, but this is not a great race for shocks and Field Of Gold is a confident choice to take his next step towards superstardom.