Stradivarius sweeps to record 20th career victory under Frankie Dettori

Stradivarius and Frankie Dettori opened a new chapter here on Friday in what was already one of the more remarkable racing stories of recent decades, as the chestnut set off on his seventh – and surely final – campaign with a one-length win in the Group Two Yorkshire Cup.

The victory, the 20th of Stradivarius’s 33-race career, set a new record for Group-race wins in Europe and took his unbeaten streak on the Knavesmire to six races. Perhaps most importantly, though, given the recent drop in attendances at many high-profile meetings, it also sent the crowd home with an “I was there” moment that will keep them coming back for more.

Stradivarius’s 18th Group-race success took him one clear of Cirrus Des Aigles among European-trained Flat horses, and his record is all the more remarkable for having been achieved without a gelding operation at some point to keep his mind on the job at hand.

He hit a brief flat spot just over a quarter of a mile out on Friday but once Dettori had persuaded Stradivarius to lengthen, he showed all his old and familiar enthusiasm to sweep into the lead a little more readily, perhaps, than even his rider had expected.

“John and Thady [Gosden, who train Stradivarius] have got to take all the credit really,” Dettori said. “They’ve changed different things to get him interested, worked him from the front and the back, taken him to different places, just to get him motivated as he’s been going on those gallops for six years.

“He looked the same as he usually does, travelled with zest, showed a good turn of foot and then he pulls up in front, but we know he does that.

“My mouth is a bit dry and I’m emotional, but what an incredible story. All roads lead to [the] Ascot [Gold Cup] for one more roll of