'There's no pressure at all' - ice-cool Atzeni relishing Stradivarius Cup ride

He is riding one of the the greatest stayers of the modern era on what could potentially be the horse's final ever run, but Andrea Atzeni cannot wait to get reacquainted with Stradivarius in Tuesday's Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup (3.35).

It will be the first time Atzeni has partnered Stradivarius in competitive action since the duo won the same race in 2018 but the rider is showing no signs of nerves as he bids to take his record to a perfect four from four on the much-loved eight-year-old in the Group 1 contest.

"It's nice to be back on him tomorrow," said Atzeni on Monday. "It would obviously be nice for him to do it again but there's no pressure at all.

"These horses don't come along very often and for me to get a chance to get back on a horse like him, I'm going to try and enjoy it as much as I can and hopefully we can get the job done.

"Watching his runs, he's still always there or thereabouts and he definitely hasn't lost it."

Stradivarius (yellow cap): couldn't overhaul Kyrpios in the Ascot Gold Cup after a controversial Frankie Dettori rideCredit: Alex Livesey (Getty Images)

Atzeni comes in for the ride after regular rider Frankie Dettori was criticised by connections for his Gold Cup ride on Stradivarius at Royal Ascot last month.

For the second successive year, Dettori and Stradivarius met trouble in running when bidding for a fourth Gold Cup success, with the rider's hold-up tactics coming under scrutiny from both joint-trainer John Gosden and owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen.

Atzeni revealed that Nielsen was the man who approached him for the ride at Goodwood and it was a simple answer when the call came.

"Bjorn approached me and asked if I could ride the horse and obviously I said yes," he said. "He's a horse of a lifetime and what he's done is unbelievable.

"My record on him is very good and hopefully we can keep it that way. What he's done has been great for the sport."

Asked if he felt any anguish for his good friend Dettori, Atzeni said: "Listen, that's racing and I don't get into the political side of it. I just got a phone call and my job is to ride horses. I got asked to ride him and I took the ride. Frankie is a good friend of mine and I'm sure I'll be speaking to him tomorrow."

Atzeni acknowledged that all eyes will be on him and Stradivarius from the moment they walk into the paddock at Goodwood on Tuesday but the fact his partner has repeatedly met trouble in running in his recent races is not concerning the jockey.

"That's racing and it's just one of those things sometimes," he added. "You need the draw, the pace to be on and to be able to get a position from where you can make a challenge whenever you want to, but a lot of the time that is not the case and it's not easy in those big races."

On his tactics for Tuesday, Atzeni said: "Hopefully we can get a nice smooth run and he gets every chance. Obviously I looked through the race after declarations and waited for the draw to come out. I have an idea of what could happen but I'll have to speak to John and Bjorn and make a plan."

More on the Goodwood Cup:

'There's no pressure at all' - ice-cool Atzeni relishing Stradivarius Cup ride

2022 Goodwood Cup: Bjorn Nielsen on what could be Stradivarius's farewell

Star stayer Trueshan expected to get Goodwood Cup go-ahead by Alan King

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