Everything Sir Mark Prescott seems to touch at the moment turns to gold. That was highlighted this afternoon as 9/1 shot Timoshenko provided the legendary Newmarket trainer with a 14th victory in July following his gutsy success in the £50,000 Unibet Goodwood Handicap.
Ridden by Luke Morris, the four-year-old son of Archipenko wore down the William Knight-trained Seinesational (22/1) in the closing stages of the extended two mile and four furlong event to score by a neck.
Timoshenko was registering his sixth victory in succession on his first start since August 2018. The gelding will now be targeted at the Cesarewitch at Newmarket on Saturday, October 12.
Prescott, who has saddled two other winners this year, both of which came in January, said: “Timoshenko did not get here by accident, this race has been very much the plan. We stopped early with him last year and this was always going to be the race he would start his season in – it is nice when a plan comes off.
“The worse he is going, the better the result as it means they are going fast enough for him and he can stay! We were lucky that the gap on the rail opened up and there was enough room for him to squeeze through.
“The Middleham Park Racing guys are great owners and I am delighted for them. This horse is also bred by Miss Kirsten Rausing who is one of my biggest supporters, so it is nice when a day like this happens.
“The plan was to run in this race and then onto the Cesarewitch, so one half of the plan has worked!”
Reflecting on his remarkable run of form this month, which has also seen four of his last six runners win, Prescott added: “It is brilliant that the horses are running so well. I only ran 12 horses earlier this year and when they ran very badly, we didn’t have any runners for six weeks.
“I don’t care how you try and pretend, it is quite wearing when you are not having winners, so it is great to have the horses in form.”
MORRIS TIMES IT RIGHT ON TIMOSHENKO
Luke Morris rode his second Qatar Goodwood Festival winner when Timoshenko landed the Unibet Goodwood Handicap over an extended two and a half miles.
Timoshenko (9/1) snatched victory after gaining a late, clear run up the far rail, depriving runner-up Seinesational (22/1) by a neck. True Destiny (11/2) was third, beaten three-quarters of a length, while The Cashel Man (16/1) finished fourth of the 19 runners.
Horses based with the winning trainer, Sir Mark Prescott, have been in scintillating form of late, and Morris said: “The horses are in great form, and long may it continue.”
Of Timoshenko he said: “He found a lovely rhythm the whole way round, and I just needed the splits [in among the other runners] and luckily they came. He showed a good attitude the whole way round.
“He’s not raced over this sort of trip before, and only up to two miles, but he’s a thorough stayer and this was tailor-made for him. I felt the rail was the right place to be, and that if I had come out and round the field I didn’t have enough horse under me to win. I had to ride my luck by staying on the inside, but it paid off.”
MISSING OUT ON A SEINESATIONAL FINISH
Sussex trainer William Knight likes nothing better than a winner at his local track, and nearly started day two of the Qatar Goodwood Festival with a winner.
After Seinesational had finished second to Timoshenko in the Unibet Goodwood Handicap, Knight said: “When Jim Crowley was third on him here earlier in the year he said ‘Bring him back for the two-and-a-half-mile handicap’, and that became our plan. He’s owned by local people and it was the ideal target.
“I’m delighted, and we’ve come up against a Sir Mark [Prescott-trained] horse who has now won his last five races. It goes that way, but we’ll enjoy our day.
“It must be our horse’s best run to date, but where we go from here I’m not sure. He likes quirky sort of tracks, and the Goodwood undulations and twists and turns suit him. I’m not sure he likes boring, flat tracks – he loses interest. The Cesarewitch is a possible, but would he like Newmarket?”