John and Thady Gosden are preparing to mount a two-pronged challenge in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup, with Sweet William and Gregory aiming to dethrone Aidan O’Brien’s Gold Cup champion, Kyprios.
Both horses finished behind Kyprios at Ascot, with Sweet William delivering a solid performance to secure third place, while Gregory struggled to cope with the demanding two-and-a-half-mile distance, finishing seventh.
Their stablemate, Trawlerman, who was the runner-up in the Gold Cup, will not participate, but the Clarehaven team feels confident in their selected contenders for the Group One event, as both have previously triumphed at Goodwood.
With favourable dry weather predicted, they are hopeful for an ideal surface on the Sussex Downs—a track where the yard enjoyed four consecutive victories with Stradivarius from 2017 to 2020.
“Gregory and Sweet William have both done well since Ascot,” said Thady Gosden.
“They’ve obviously freshened up since then and they’ve been busy in their work at home. We’re hoping for a good run. Gregory enjoys top of the ground and Sweet William ran a great race to be third in the Gold Cup on good to firm, so with the forecast looking how it is, the ground shouldn’t pose any issues at all.”