Kingman followed up his Royal Ascot heroics with a devastating change of gear to land the Group One Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
The showpiece of the famed racing festival in Sussex had once again been billed as ‘the duel on the Downs’ with the odds-on favourite in a virtual match against last year’s winner, Toronado.
Rank outsiders Outstrip and Darwin made up the compact four-runner field, with the latter taking the quartet along at a snail’s pace in the early stages.
The mile feature boiled down to the last two furlongs, when Toronado made a burst for the line but James Doyle had been waiting for the move at the back of the field.
Doyle conjured up an electric response from Kingman, who swept past Toronado at breakneck speed to take his record to six wins from seven with a one length verdict over the Richard Hannon-trained runner-up.
“That’s what separates him from the others, He’s so versatile and has all the attributes to get you out of trouble,” said Doyle on Wednesday.
“He’s got a wonderful turn of foot. I thought we’d go steady but not for as long as that.”
Harry herbert, racing manager to Toronado’s owner, Sheikh Joaan Bin Hamad Al Thani, commented: “The race was always going to be a muddling affair.
“The race panned out probably the only way we could beat Kingman, but as soon as he hit the flat ground we were done for.
“There’s no immediate plan, we need the dust to settle. There’s not a whole lot of options but he’s a wonderful horse and I don’t think he lost anything in defeat.”
The winner is owned by Prince Khalid Abdullah whose silks will forever be associated with Frankel, his unbeaten champion who Kingman was emulating by adding the Sussex to his majestic victory in Ascot’s St James’s Palace Stakes last month.
