In one of the biggest upsets in British racing history, 150-1 shot Qirat claimed victory in the Group One Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on Wednesday. The Ralph Beckett-trained gelding, who finished 27th of 30 in the Royal Hunt Cup on his previous visit, held off the challenge of favourite Field Of Gold and Rosallion to win by a neck.
Jockey Richard Kingscote, who described the result as 'a bit surreal', set a strong pace from the front and was never headed. 'Towards the cut-away I was thinking he was going well, but you always expect the horses rated 20lb higher to be coming through,' he said. The win is the longest-priced Group One success in Britain since the grading system was introduced in the 1970s.
Trainer Ralph Beckett admitted surprise but not total astonishment. 'We set out to go 12-second furlongs. That was the plan and what he did. It is as simple as that,' he said. 'When he went past Serengeti, I could see they were not coming and I was fairly confident he would not stop.'
Field Of Gold, the 1-3 favourite, finished a disappointing third. Trainer John Gosden said the horse 'didn't seem too well-balanced on the track' but offered no excuses. 'They ignored the pacemaker and paid the price,' he added.
Meanwhile, Thursday's Nassau Stakes features a small but competitive field of five, with Whirl, Cercene, and Bedtime Story among the leading contenders. See The Fire, runner-up last year, is the 2-1 favourite.
