Jerome Reynier’s Facteur Cheval is set for another trip to Goodwood, aiming to improve on his performance in last year's Qatar Sussex Stakes.
The five-year-old finished as the runner-up in this prestigious race last season, losing to Aidan O’Brien’s exceptional Paddington while starting as an 11-1 underdog on soft ground.
Before that outing, the gelding had shown strong form in several Group races on similarly soft surfaces in France. However, he demonstrated his adaptability in the Dubai Turf at Meydan in March, where he secured a commendable Group One victory on good ground.
After a spring break, he returned to the Queen Anne during Royal Ascot, but the race did not go as Reynier had hoped. He lost a shoe and raced on the less favourable side of the track, ultimately finishing sixth.
Reynier is optimistic about moving past that performance and believes his horse can find his best form again on the Sussex Downs.
“He’s in good shape. He came back quite tired after Royal Ascot, where he raced without a shoe on the ground that was too quick,” he said. “He was not on the right side of the track, and it was a race to forget about in the end. Last year, he proved he was competitive at the highest level at Meydan and Goodwood as well. I don’t know how the track will be this year, probably much faster than the really deep surface against Paddington, but at Ascot, it was not so much the ground as the lost shoes and the tactics of the race. I am very happy with him now, we are looking forward to coming back.”
Facteur Cheval is among eight contenders confirmed for the second-day feature at Goodwood, which also includes Richard Hannon’s Rosallion, set for a rematch with Aidan O’Brien's Henry Longfellow, who finished first and second in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
O’Brien has also entered Mountain Bear and River Tiber, while Charlie Appleby is hopeful that his brilliant 2000 Guineas winner, Notable Speech, can bounce back after a disappointing showing behind Rosallion and Henry Longfellow at the Royal meeting. William Haggas-trained Maljoom and Ralph Beckett's Sonny Liston are the other hopefuls in the lineup.