Soccer

The five fastest Sussex Stakes winners

The standout mile race of the Goodwood Festival meeting, there have been some gloriously quick winners of the Sussex Stakes over the years.

The standout mile race of the Goodwood Festival meeting, there have been some gloriously quick winners of the Sussex Stakes over the years.
Planet Sport has the rundown on the the five fastest winners of the Sussex Stakes and with Frankel victorious twice in the race but not making the speedy shortlist, there are some seriously quick animals to discuss.

5. Sayyedati (1995 - time 1.36.17)

The Clive Brittain-trained mare Sayyedati was a beneficiary of the Sussex Stakes being opened to horses aged five or older in 1975.

Sayyedati was a relatively long in the tooth five when she took on the mile race at Glorious Goodwood after picking up the 1000 Guineas in 1993.

Indeed, the Shadeed mare came second in the '93 running of the Sussex Stakes but then went the whole of 1994 winless, so faced a real challenge in the 1995 edition.

Jockey Brett Doyle was happy to hang at the back of the pack on Sayyedati and kick on from two furlongs out, engaging the St James's Palace Stakes winner Bahri and grinding the win out by a neck at Goodwood.

It was a strong training performance from Brittain on a horse that wouldn't win again.

But Sayyedati had saved her best for the Sussex Stakes, posting a smart time of 1.36.17, the fifth fastest in the race's history since it switched to a mile.

4. Court Masterpiece (2006 - 1.36.10)

Court Masterpiece had the 2004 Sussex Stakes winner Soviet Song to contend with in the 2006 version. The Ed Dunlop-trained horse had won the Prix de la Foret at seven furlongs but struggled to get his head in front in the one mile Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot.
At six, Court Masterpiece was a year older than Sayyedati but proved surprisingly spring-heeled and spritely in the final furlong of the 2006 Sussex Stakes.
With James Fanshawe's Soviet Song bidding for a second win in the race, Jimmy Fortune made sure Court Masterpiece kept on powerfully to record a solid two length win in a fast time of 1.36.10.
"I think the key is that he can quicken so well and, off a decent pace, he quickened when a gap came nicely for him. He kept on well so the myth about him not staying a mile has gone forever" said Dunlop.

3. Distant Relative (1990 - 1.36.06)

The well-bred Distant Relative was sired by the Lockinge Stakes winning American bred Habitat so his ability over a mile came naturally.

The Barry Hills-trained horse arrived at Goodwood in 1990 as a 4/1 shot, with Sir Henry Cecil's Shavian, the 100/30 favourite.
On a warm day, everything was set up for a quick edition of the Sussex Stakes and Distant Relative made a back to front run up the rail to clinch the Group One by half a length from Green Line Express.
The time over good to firm going was a rattling fast 1.36.06, enough to clinch the third fastest ever time in the Goodwood mile showpiece.

2. Distant View (1994 - 1:35.71)

The late Sir Henry Cecil was to win the Sussex Stakes twice with the superstar Frankel but his beast of a winner from 2011 and 2012 couldn't get near Distant View's time from 1994.
Trained by Cecil and owned by Frankel's owner Khalid Abdulla, the American bred Distant View took on the 1994 Sussex Stakes only in only his second start after winning a Kempton maiden.
A solid second in the St James's Palace Stakes put Cecil's colt bang in contention at Goodwood however and he set off at a price of 4/1 under Pat Eddery.
Short of room two furlongs out, Eddery switched left in the pink and green Abdulla silks, giving Distant View a straight run at out-sprinting the eventual European Horse Of The Year Barathea.
In a breathless finish on fast ground at Goodwood, Distant View got on top by half and length and recorded a blistering time of 1.35.71 in the process.
Only one horse has so far beaten it.

1. Aljabr (1999 - 1:35.66)

You didn't need algebra to work out that Aljabr's winning time in the 1999 Sussex Stakes was a clock-buster.

The Storm Cat colt flashed home under Frankie Dettori in the Godolphin silks, leaving his opposition feeling blue.

Another US bred Sussex Stakes winner, Aljabr won the Prix de la Salamandre at Longchamp in the build up and clearly wasn't going to attack Goodwood at a snail's pace.
Dettori broke well and made all the running under Aljabr on lightning quick ground at Goodwood on a warm day in late July.
Docksider, a smart performer for John Hills in Germany, went at it fast but could simply not live with Aljabr's fishing speed over the final half furlong at Goodwood.
The clock stopped at a red hot 1.35.66, well under the rapid 1.36.00 mark and a time that will take some going to beat.
Fancy a punt on this year's Sussex Stakes?

More Articles