French challenger Solow has continued his stellar season with an authoritative display in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.
With the defection of leading three-year-old Gleneagles taking some of the gloss off the Group One feature, the Freddy Head-trained Solow was the 2-5 favourite to add to his previous top-level triumphs this year in the Dubai Turf, Prix d’Ispahan and Queen Anne Stakes.
The market leader was quickly away in the hands of Maxime Guyon and was in the perfect position to strike in the straight, tracking the pacesetting Arod.
Arod refused to go down without a fight, but Solow had too many guns and finished a half-length winner.
“He is unbelievable. He’s won four Group Ones this year – it’s crazy,” Guyon said.
“He is easy to ride. He doesn’t pull. After he uses his turn of foot, he stops a little bit, which is why he doesn’t win easy, but he’s really good.
“For a jockey, he is the best. I think he is the best horse in my career.”
Head has been lucky enough to have trained some of the best milers of recent years and Solow is rapidly heading towards the top of the list.
“I love coming to England and I like to go abroad, to go to America for the top-class races. If you have a top-class horse that is what you should do – you train for that,” Head said.
“He’s great. He didn’t have the best of runs, always in the open and seeing a bit of daylight. He is getting a bit lazy with age, too, but he does exactly what he needs to.
“It is nerve-racking sending a horse to the races with a string of ones next to his name as you know one day it will stop.
“His next race will be the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October.”
