2025 Goodwood Cup News - Quotes From Connections
On the opening day of Glorious Goodwood 2025, the spotlight is on the prestigious Goodwood Cup. Among the top contenders is Illinois, praised for his stamina and class by Aidan O'Brien. Scandinavia, boasting an impressive win at Newmarket, is ridden by Ryan Moore. Richard Brown discusses French Master's potential stepping up from a handicap to a Group 1 race. Thady Gosden presents a diverse lineup including French Master, Sweet William, and Military Academy, each with unique capabilities. Top performances are also expected from Sunway, benefitting from blinkers, and Dubai Future, showing excellent form for a nine-year-old.
- Key quotes ahead of the 2025 Goodwood Cup
- This Group One will be run at Goodwood on Tuesday 29th July
- Read quotes from Aidan O'Brien, John & Thady Gosden and David Menuisier on our website
The opening day of racing at Glorious Goodwood is headlined by the Goodwood Cup - a two-mile Group One which has been won by many of flat racing's finest stayers.
Here are the quotes from the connections of the horses who'll run in Tuesday's renewal of the Goodwood Cup.
2025 Goodwood Cup - Key Quotes
Aidan O'Brien (Illinois)
The thing about Illinois is that he stays very well, but he’s got a bit of class to go with it. We’re happy with him; he’s been doing everything right at home. He has a good mind, he’s relaxed, he’s big and he’s hardy. Physically, he’s done well.
Ryan Moore (Scandinavia)
I hadn’t ridden him until he won at Newmarket (Bahrain Trophy). He got into a lovely rhythm then and stayed on really well. He was impressive.
Richard Brown (Racing Manager to French Master's owners, Wathnan)
I saw French Master at John and Thady Gosden’s yard recently and he seems to have come out of his Ascot race in great condition.
You had to be impressed with that performance. He’s stepping up from a handicap to a Group 1 race but we’re going to pitch him in the Goodwood Cup and see where we are.
John Gosden (Sweet William)
It was a tough race (Gold Cup) and in the end it was a little too far for him, but he ran a brave race. He’s in very good form. Robert Havlin rides him every day and he’s very pleased with him.
Thady Gosden (French Master, Sweet William & Military Academy)
We have three runners in the Goodwood Cup which is a good hand. They all have very different profiles and they are at different stages of their career and this race will present different challenges to them all.
French Master enters this after winning the Copper Horse Stakes at Royal Ascot, but stepping out of handicap company into Group One company is always a big question.
However, he has come out of the race at Ascot, which he won in good style, in great order. It was hard to say he was going to end up in a race like this when he won at Goodwood earlier in the season.
He is a different type to Sweet William, but we thought he was a horse that would continue to improve and we will know a lot more after Tuesday. Sweet William is already proven in the staying division and he is a talented gelding and he also goes there in good order.
He is a very gifted and talented horse that is a beautiful home bred of Philippa Cooper’s and it would be fantastic for him to win at the top level. The two and a half miles at Ascot in the Gold Cup, in the temperature which it was there this year, stretched him, but he has come out of the race in top shape and Rab (Havlin) looked after him.
Military Academy hasn’t run since the Tapster at Goodwood where he ran a good race to be second over the mile and a half to Hamish. He is a horse that enjoys getting his toe in, but they have had a bit of rain down there.
Stepping up to two miles is a question mark, but he is a very laid back horse that relaxes well in his races. He is by a Galileo mare (Sovereign Parade) so you would like to think the step up in trip will play to his strengths.
Stepping him up in trip has always been our plan and it was just a case of deciding where the right place to do it was going to be.
David Menuisier (Sunway)
He ran well at Ascot and Oisin (Murphy) felt he’d be better over further. He stayed 1m6f in the St Leger last year so we’re hopeful he’ll get the trip. The blinkers seemed to help him concentrate, so we’ll keep them on.
Saeed bin Suroor (Dubai Future)
Dubai Future is in good form, he worked on Thursday and he’s in very good form.
He had to take a little break, but he is doing very well as a nine-year-old, he settled well at Ascot and that was a good run in the Gold Cup. He’s in very good condition and we’re looking forward to getting him out again.
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