Lord Riddiford’s love affair with the Sussex Downs venue continued as he powered his way to a third consecutive success in the opening five-furlong Coral Handicap.
Stall fifteen proved no hindrance for the eight-year-old Lord Riddiford (8/1) as he pulled comfortably clear in the closing stages to score by three and a quarter lengths.
It was a fourth Qatar Goodwood Festival success for John Quinn's runner but the first time he has been ridden by the Hong Kong-bound Andrea Atzeni.
Existent (12/1) fared best of those in behind when beaten a neck into second while Alligator Alley, who was also sent off 12/1 finished back in third.
Quinn said: "Lord Riddiford really likes this track. He ran quite well in the Dash [at Epsom] but the ground was a little bit quick for him. We thought, 'he's an old horse, we'll freshen him up for here and hope that he gets a bit of cut in the ground'. He's been training well at home, but I thought it was a better race than he won last year; some of the horses brought better form to the race. But as you saw there, he loves this place, and the cut in the ground was very important.
"When I saw the draw, I thought on the first day in the first race on the straight track, I was happy to be 15, to be honest with you. At least we were near the rail. The ground is the same across the track for the first race, so I thought, 15, near the rail when the ground is soft, will be an advantage.
"We were more than hopeful. With these older horses, they need conditions to be ideal. Two-year-olds will probably go on ground a bit quicker than is ideal, but older horses need it ideal. When I was driving down yesterday there was rain all the way to London, which was lovely! It stopped a bit further on, and then when we got to Goodwood it was raining again and I thought, lovely. It's great to see an eight-year-old bounce back, and I'm delighted."
Atzeni said: "He does love it here. He had won this race twice before and he was on a good mark. He had not won since this race last year."
On the choice of his latest venture to Hong Kong, Atzeni added: "At the moment it's a short stint with a six-month contract, but I'm looking forward to going to Hong Kong at the end of the month.
"No decision in life is an easy one, and this is a life-changing one for me, but I think it came at the right time. It came from nowhere – I didn't expect the phone call a little while back – but I spoke to a few close people and came to the conclusion that it's a good opportunity for me to give it a go. Things are not going badly here, but they're not getting any easier.
"It doesn't matter where you are in the world . . . England, America, Hong Kong, everywhere is going to be hard, so I'm looking forward to a new challenge and giving it a go. I am lucky that I have no problems with my weight."
