Stradivarius (horse)

2016: two-year-old season

Stradivarius made his racecourse debut in a maiden race over eight and a half furlongs at Nottingham Racecourse on 5 October in which he started at odds of 3/1 and finished fifth of the nine runners behind Contrapposto. Two weeks later, in a similar event over one mile at Newmarket Racecourse he ran fourth behind his stablemate Cracksman. On 7 November the colt stated favourite for a one-mile maiden on the synthetic tapeta track at Newcastle Racecourse. Ridden as on his debut by Robert Havlin he led for most of the way and rallied after being headed in the closing stages to win in a blanket finish from Bowerman, Mutarabby and Lethal Impact.^[5]

2017: three-year-old season

Stradivarius began his second season in handicap races. Over ten furlongs Beverley Racecourse on 19 April he carried a weight of 131 pounds and won "readily" by six lengths from Election Day. At Chester Racecourse in May he was assigned 133 pounds for a handicap over one and a half miles and was beaten half a length by Here And Now,to whom he was conceding 13 pounds. At Royal Ascot on 23 June, the colt was stepped up in class and distance to contest the Group 2 Queen's Vase over 14 furlongs in which he was partnered by Andrea Atzeni. Starting the 11/2 second choice in the betting he overcame interference in the straight to take the lead inside the final furlong and on by a neck from Count Octave.^[6]

On 1 August at Goodwood Racecourse Stradivarius was stepped up to Group 1 class and matched against older stayers in the Goodwood Cup over two miles. Ridden by Atzeni he started the 6/1 second favourite behind Big Orange (winner of the race for the last two years) while the other runners included US Army Ranger, Wicklow Brave (Irish St Leger), Sheikhzayedroad (Northern Dancer Turf Stakes), Pallasator (Doncaster Cup), Qewy (Geelong Cup), Higher Power (Northumberland Plate), High Jinx (Prix du Cadran) and Sweet Selection (Cesarewitch). After racing in mid-division as Big Orange led, Stradivarius began to make progress three furlongs out. He overtook the favourite approaching the final furlong and "stayed on strongly" to win by one and three quarter length with a gap of three and half lengths back to Desert Skyline in third.^[7] John Gosden commented "He's not the biggest of horses and it was a bit rough on the first bend. He didn't panic and it opened up for us. He's a lovely little horse".^[8]

At Doncaster Racecourse on 16 September Stradivarius started 9/2 second favourite behind Capri in what appeared to be a strong edition of the St Leger.^[9] He made steady progress on the inside in the straight and finished third, beaten half a length and a short head by Capri and Crystal Ocean with Rekindling in fourth.^[10] On his final start of the year he took on older horses again the British Champions Long Distance Cup over two miles at Ascot in October in which he finished third behind Order of St George and Torcedor, beaten a length by the winner.

In the 2017 World's Best Racehorse Rankings Stradivarius was given a rating of 118, making him the 90th best racehorse in the world.^[11]

2018: four-year-old season

On his first appearance as a four-year-old Stradivarius started 4/6 favourite for the Yorkshire Cup over one and three quarter miles at York Racecourse. Ridden by Dettori he took the lead in the last quarter mile and accelerated away from his rivals to win "readily" by three lengths from Desert Skyline.^[12] After the race Dettori said "He's a star - it's very rare you get a stayer with a turn of foot, but that is what he has got. It's a deadly combination."^[13]

The colt's second appearance at Royal Ascot on 21 June saw him made 7/4 joint favourite with Order of St George for the Gold Cup over two and a half miles, with the third choice in the betting being Vazirabad, a French gelding whose victories included the Prix du Cadran and two editions of the Prix Royal Oak. The other six runners included Desert Skyline, Torcedor, Sheikhzayedroad and Max Dynamite (2nd and 3rd in the last two Melbourne Cups). Dettori settled the colt behind the leaders before moving forward to make his challenge in the straight. Stradivarius took the lead from Torcedor a furlong out and kept on "gamely" to win by three quarters of a length from Vazirabad.^[14] Dettori commented "He was a lion, he fought everything off. The crowd lifted him."^[15]

On 31 July Stradivarius attempted to repeat his 2017 success in the Goodwood Cup and started 4/5 favourite against six opponents headed by Torcedor, Idaho and Desert Skyline. Atzeni (deputising for the suspended Dettori) tracked the leaders as Torcedor set the pace. He moved into second place in the straight, caught Torcedor inside the final furlong, and won by half a length.^[16] His victory meant that a win in the Lonsdale Cup at York in August would earn his owner the WH Stayers’ Million, a £1 million bonus offered for a horse who was able to win the Ascot Gold Cup, Goodwood Cup and Lonsdale Cup in the same season. Commenting on the horse's victory, and hi propects of securing the bonus, Goden said "He’s got a lot of heart, and he was very determined to go and win his race. That [Lonsdale Cup] would be the obvious choice, I’m sure they’ve got it very well insured! He’s the most charming horse to be around. He’s a lovely ride".^[17]

Stradivarius was partnered by Dettori when he started the 4/11 favourite for the Lonsdale Cup on 24 August. His opponents on this occasion included Idaho, Desert Skyline, Max Dynamite, Count Octave and Red Verdon. He won the race and eaned the £1 million bonus, beating Count Octave by one and a half lengths.