Homespin’s victory in the Unibet Nursery Handicap was a fifth of the 2019 Qatar Goodwood Festival for trainer Mark Johnston, and means Johnston has now trained a record 83 winners at the meeting in total over the years. He is two winners clear of John Gosden in this year’s Leading Trainer Award.
7/1 Homespin, a son of Speightstown, was ridden by James Doyle and finished a length and a quarter in front of Dylan De Vega.
Johnston said: “I think attitude was what is was all about today. He was a dream – apparently he was quite difficult first time out at Wolverhampton, and today he was just quiet as a lamb, easy to saddle, and James said very straightforward throughout the preliminaries, whereas Eton College probably ran his race beforehand and Praxeology was just a bit too keen and fast down the hill, so it was all temperament and attitude that saw this horse win the day.
“To be honest, I was a little bit hesitant in bringing three such nice horses here. I know it is a £25,000 race, but they all deserve to be running here on their own or in something bigger, so I said to the jockeys beforehand, ‘Nobody can blame me for not giving them the right horse’, because I couldn’t say which one was the best. This horse has been very straightforward.
“We don’t have anything else mapped out for him yet.”
Doyle said: “I’ve never sat on him before, but everyone seemed happy with him beforehand. He behaved himself quite well, which is half the battle here when it is quite busy with the young horses, and he did it really well. Broke well, led all the way pretty much – it was a good performance.
“He was on a decent mark for what he had achieved and has obviously improved since his last start.”
York a possibility for runner-up Dylan De Vega
The Richard Fahey-trained 14/1 chance Dylan De Vega found Homespin (7/1) a length and a quarter too good in the £25,000 Unibet Nursery.
Fahey commented after the six-furlong race: “He ran well, but the winner went too fast and wouldn’t wait for us. I think maybe a nursery on Ebor day at York will be next, but we will see how he is.”
Tony Hamilton, rider of Dylan De Vega, added: “I went to pick up Mark Johnston’s horse [Homespin] and he went again.”
4.10pm Unibet Nursery Handicap, 6f
1 Homespin (Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum) 2-9-03 James Doyle 7/1
2 Dylan De Vega (Smarden Thoroughbreds) Richard Fahey 2-9-06 Tony Hamilton 14/1
3 Born To Destroy (William & Camilla Haines & Phil Cunningham) Richard Spencer 2-8-11 Harry Bentley 16/1
3/1 fav Praxeology (4th)
14 ran
Time: 1m 11.17s
Distances: 1¼, 1½
Tote Win: £7.40 Places: £2.60, £4.30, £5.90 Exacta: £121.20
Breeding: ch c Speightstown (USA) – Vaguely Familiar (USA) (A.P. Indy (USA))
Breeder: Godolphin
Mark Johnston – 152nd Goodwood winner (83rd at Qatar Goodwood Festival)
James Doyle – 37th Goodwood winner (16th at Qatar Goodwood Festival)