Mohaather overcomes rough trip to win Sussex Mile

One bad trip cost Mohaather any chance at winning the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes last month at Royal Ascot but another one couldn’t keep him from victory in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes on Wednesday at Goodwood.

Mohaather and jockey Jim Crowley found themselves trapped in a bad spot with three furlongs to race in the one-mile Sussex. The Aidan O’Brien-trained Circus Maximus was leading, the O’Brien-trained Vatican City was pressing the pace on the outside, and the O’Brien-trained Wichita tracked Vatican City, hemming Mohaather in a pocket, with Kameko to his inside along the rail. Wichita drifted in, brushing Mohaather, at which point Crowley decided enough was enough. He pulled Mohaather to the back of the seven-horse field, steered outside to get in favored Siskin’s slip-stream, at which point his mount unleashed a mighty burst, scorching his final furlong and a half to breeze past Circus Maximus and post a three-quarter-length win.

“When he saw daylight, he just absolutely flew,” Crowley said. “He showed the most electric turn of foot. To give weight away to younger horses and pick them up was just special, really.”

Mohaather and Circus Maximus, both 4-year-olds, carried 134 pounds, eight more than the 3-year-olds. Circus Maximus plugged away gamely to finish second, a half-length better than favored Siskin, who had won the Irish 2000 Guineas in his most recent start and came into the Sussex unbeaten in five races. Siskin had every chance to win but came up just short in the final half-furlong, leaving his connections wondering if some cut in the ground had blunted his kick.

Kameko, winner of the English 2000 Guineas, finished fourth, right behind the top three, and had a really poor trip, locked into his spot along the fence and behind Circus Maximus, then trapped behind the top three finishers when jockey Oisin Murphy finally had room to steer outside.

Vatican City was struck by Circus Maximus’s hoof in the homestretch, according to the stewards’ report, his head coming up as he dropped quickly back from second to last. He was reported lame after the race.

The Sussex was a Win and You’re In Race for the Breeders’ Cup Mile, offering automatic fees paid for entry and travel expenses to Keeneland this fall. Marcus Tregoning trains Mohaather for Hamdan al Maktoum and after the Sussex mentioned the BC Mile as a likely target. In fact, the top three could all meet at Keeneland, with Ger Lyons, trainer of Siskin, also pointing toward the BC Mile as an autumn objective. Circus Maximums shipped to Santa Anita last fall to finish fourth in the BC Mile.

Mohaather, by Showcasing out of Roodeye, by Ichinor, broke a long Group 1 drought for Tregoning, who won the 2006 Epsom Derby with Sir Percy. Twice a winner from three starts at age 2, Mohaather had an interrupted two-start 2019 campaign and began 2020 with no luck in the Queen Anne, where he was far back in the early stages and lacked room to run every time he needed it. Things didn’t go his way Wednesday, either, but Mohaather is so good right now, it didn’t matter.