Can the Gordon Richards Stakes be the launchpad for yet another Group 1 winner?

2.25 Sandown
bet365 Gordon Richards Stakes (Group 3) | 1m2f | 4yo+ | ITV4/RTV

None of the winners of the Gordon Richards since 2013 had previously won a Group 1, but all bar one of them ended their career as a winner at that level. It is arguably the most significant early-season race for the previous year's three-year-olds who outgrew handicaps without realising their full potential.

That alone should suggest Sir Michael Stoute has a good record in the race, and he does. Ulysses and Crystal Ocean have taken the last three runnings between them, bringing Stoute's total number of winners to ten.

Highest Ground is the sole Stoute representative this year and he already has a form edge on some rivals, having beaten Waldkonig and shaped like the better horse when mowed down late on by Thunderous in the Dante last July.

Thunderous (left) gets up to win the Dante Stakes at York ahead of Highest GroundCredit: Dan Abraham/Pool via Getty Images

Since then, Waldkonig has run only once (won a handicap at Pontefract easily off 101) and Thunderous has not been seen. Highest Ground himself has run just once since the Dante, over 1m1f three months later, so it has been left to others to uphold the form. They have not done a tremendous job. Progress from the likes of third-placed Juan Elcano has been marginal at best.

It may be worth noting that winners of this race have enjoyed their best days over 1m2f, as Hukum is already demonstrably more of a stayer. He won the King George V and Geoffrey Freer before finishing fifth in the St Leger. Admittedly, he might not quite have stayed the 1m6½f trip at Doncaster.

The two older horses have been around long enough to make their presence felt around here already.

Extra Elusive was third to Crystal Ocean in this race in 2019 and is a better horse now after a productive 2020, while Desert Encounter has been placed in both of the other major 1m2f races at Sandown – the Brigadier Gerard and Eclipse.

If the Gordon Richards is to uphold its recent history, they should be found wanting by at least one of the four-year-olds.
Keith Melrose, betting editor

Stoute tries again – 40 years on

To say the Gordon Richards Stakes is a race Sir Michael Stoute likes is a bit of an understatement and this year marks the 40th anniversary of his first victory in the Group 3 contest with Hard Fought.

The Newmarket trainer's roll of honour now features ten wins, including in the last three runnings, and this year's challenger is the promising Highest Ground, who is superbly handled at home on a daily basis by ex-jockey JD Smith and has plenty of untapped potential having run only four times in his life.

The son of Frankel takes on some familiar rivals, including his Dante conqueror Thunderous, but could not be in better shape for his reappearance after a piece of work under Ryan Moore on the Al Bahathri Polytrack in Newmarket a week ago.

On Thursday morning Stoute said: “Highest Ground has made pleasing physical progress over the winter and has been working well at home. This looks a nice starting point for him.”

What they say

David Simcock, trainer of Desert Encounter
He's been fresh and well at home. He's carrying a bit of extra condition as you'd expect at this time of year for a horse of his age. We've got no doubt the run will sharpen him up for the rest of the season.

Angus Gold, racing manager to Shadwell Estate Company, owners of Hukum
The decisions last year were always based on "is he going to stay?" and he looked like he was certainly going to be a mile-and-a-half horse. We knew he had the class for that – and it was just a question of whether he could stay further. I think this is the right place to start him back, with a view to the fact that we’ve got Ascot coming up.

Mark Johnston, trainer of Thunderous
We’re 100 per cent happy in terms of the injuries – there’s no concern whatsoever. He’s been back in full work since before Christmas and I'd fully expect him to improve for the run. He’s not run any further than the Dante trip, so this ticks a lot of boxes as a comeback race. We can learn a bit from this and hopefully go forward to better things down the line.”

John Gosden, joint trainer of Waldkonig
It’s a big jump up in class from winning a handicap at Pontefract but this looks a nice opportunity to get some black type. He handled fast ground on his comeback and should have no issues with the surface.
Reporting by David Milnes

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