Newbury: Canford Cliffs wins fourth straight Group 1

Canford Cliffs stretched his winning streak to 4, all in Group 1 races, with a smart-looking victory in Saturday’s Lockinge Stakes at Newbury Racecourse.

Ridden by Richard Hughes, Canford Cliffs, the 4-5 favorite, stalked pacesetters Worthadd and Twice Over for the first seven furlongs of the one-mile race. Hughes guided Canford Cliffs between horses with a furlong to go and took the lead from Worthadd with a sixteenth of a mile remaining, appearing to win with something in reserve.

Canford Cliffs won by 1 1/4 lengths over 25-1 Worthadd, who finished clear of 33-1 Premio Loco in the field of seven. Dick Turpin, a Group 1 winner at 3 last year, finished fourth after encountering traffic problems in the last furlong, while Twice Over, the winner of the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Newmarket last fall, faded to finish sixth.

Trained by Richard Hannon, Canford Cliffs won the Irish 1000 Guineas, St. James’s Palace Stakes, and Sussex Stakes in succession last year. The Lockinge Stakes was a prep for the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 14, when Canford Cliffs is expected to face Goldikova, the winner of the last three Breeders’ Cup Miles.