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Frankel, Canford Cliffs face only two rivals in Sussex
Rio de la Plata, successful in the Vintage S. (Eng-G2) over the course as a two-year-old, is a solid Group 1 performer for Godolphin and trainer Saeed bin Suroor. The five-year-old also landed the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere (Fr-G1) as a juvenile and collected a pair of Group 1 races over a mile and 10 furlongs in Italy last autumn. He was fourth to the Richard Hannon-trained Canford Cliffs in the Queen Anne S. (Eng-G1) at Royal Ascot. French trainer Freddie Head is hoping that Rajsaman can succeed where his illustrious stablemate Goldikova failed, by overcoming Canford Cliffs. The four-year-old colt was last seen finishing strongly to take third in the Prix d'Ispahan (Fr-G1) at Longchamp in May, just a length behind the great mare. "I am delighted with the field for the QIPCO Sussex S.," said Adam Waterworth, managing director at Goodwood Racecourse. "The whole focus was the 'Duel on the Downs,' so to get the big two is fantastic. Obviously, we have known about that for a couple of weeks, but it is still always a relief to see them still in there with the race just two days away. "Numerically, we would have hoped for a few more runners than the four we have, but with Frankel and Canford Cliffs in there, it is not too big a surprise to see a small field. "It is brilliant that we have a runner from France for the first time in a while and Rio de la Plata is a very good horse who has a little bit of history at Goodwood. We have four fantastic horses in the race and we can't wait for the day. "I cannot think of a Flat race that has attracted the attention and anticipation that this race has. A lot of that comes down to the contrasting running styles of the two main protagonists. "To get what looks like being the best three-year-old we have seen in a very long time up against a four-year-old that is already proven is brilliant. Tactically, I think it is going to be a fascinating race, with those two horses and the way they run. "You do not necessarily need 12 runners to have a spectacular race. I think we would have a great race with only Frankel and Canford Cliffs but the fact that we have another two in there that are very good horses in their own right is fantastic. I just cannot wait for 10 past three on Wednesday." Wednesday's excellent card also features the £60,000 Vintage for two-year-olds over seven furlongs, which has seven declarations. They include RED DUKE (Hard Spun), who took the Superlative S. (Eng-G2) over the distance at Newmarket on July 9 for trainer John Quinn, defeating the Hannon-trained CHANDLERY (Choisir) by a neck. Hannon saddled King Torus (Oratorio [Ire]) to land the prize last season, and Chandlery is the pick of a quartet that the trainer has declared for the prestigious prize. The others are the twice-raced and unbeaten RED SEVENTY (Sakhee), Newmarket maiden victor ROCKINANTE (Rock of Gibraltar [Ire]) and Lingfield maiden winner MINAL (Compton Place). The trainer also took the race in 1986 with subsequent Guineas hero Don't Forget Me. Clive Cox won the Vintage in 2009 with Xtension (Xaar) and is set to saddle LETHAL FORCE (Dark Angel), who exhibited high-class form on June 14 when less than two lengths fourth to Power (Oasis Dream [GB]) in the Coventry S. (Eng-G2) at Royal Ascot. Mark Johnston won this race with Lucky Story (2003) and the outstanding Shamardal (2003). The trainer runs ELKHART (Refuse to Bend [Ire]), who was third to Rockinante at Newmarket before easily landing a Beverley maiden on July 2. Glorious Goodwood runs over five days, from Tuesday through Saturday.
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