On Tuesday, Scandinavia won the Group 1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup. He crossed the line an incredible eight-and-a-half lengths ahead. At 6-5 odds, the favourite proved untouchable in the £500,000 contest at the South Coast track. And the son of Justify extended his unbeaten streak to seven consecutive races since trainers fitted him with cheekpieces.
Trawlerman finished in second place at 13/8 odds. Roger Varian’s Rahiebb took third at 14/1. But the final result hardly captures the sheer chaos they had to deal with.
How Scandinavia Retains Goodwood Cup Crown After Eventful Race
Right out of the gate, trouble started. Jockey Hector Crouch caught his foot as Amiloc jinked right. He popped out of the saddle instantly. A riderless Amiloc then galloped up the track with nearly 12 furlongs still left to run.
William Buick pushed Trawlerman to the front to set the pace downhill into the straight. On Scandinavia, Moore tracked him closely. The race seemed entirely under control until the three-furlong mark.
Amiloc suddenly veered wide on the home turn. The loose thoroughbred drifted sharply across the path of both leaders—an action that created a severe hazard in the final stretch. Amiloc cut directly across Trawlerman. Because of the interference, Buick lost momentum at the exact moment he needed to kick clear.
Scandinavia sat a half-length back. He sidestepped the interference entirely. The champion locked in an emphatic win to replicate the Gold Cup double Kyprios accomplished in 2022 and 2024.
Trawlerman lost his rhythm. Scandinavia never broke stride.
Jockeys React to the Two-Mile Sprint
Buick explained his split-second decision to stay inside.
“It’s significant,” Buick said following the race. “It’s hard to say how significant but he’s a horse who is a Gold Cup winner, so he stays. To try to manoeuvre around a loose horse is never easy and my worry was if I found myself on his outside, I could give away a lot of ground and be on the stands side, theoretically. I went the shortest route and he only got in my way in the most important part of the race.”
Moore had a much smoother trip. The veteran rider maintained his composure perfectly. He even noted the loose horse provided a reliable target to aim at.
“It was nice for him to have a horse to follow all the way,” Moore said. “He probably thinks he got beat. His stride never shortened, he just kept galloping all the way to the line. He’s a high-class horse.”
O’Brien praised his horse’s durability after completing the Ascot Gold Cup and Goodwood Cup double.
“He’s very sound, he loves what he’s doing and the lads love having him,” O’Brien told reporters. “It was a bit eventful, but it was still a great race at a great track.”
Trawlerman once again settled for the runner-up spot behind O’Brien’s star. The Gosden-trained runner simply couldn’t recover the ground he gave up. Scandinavia proved exactly what the crowd was looking for.