Refuse to Bend heads Sussex

The European road to the Breeders' Cup Mile gets under way in earnest at Goodwood on Wednesday with the 145th running of the Group 1, $550,000 Sussex Stakes.

The Sussex has drawn a field of 11, led by Godolphin's razor-sharp Refuse to Bend. Returning to form when he won the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes over Ascot's straight mile on June 15, Refuse to Bend stepped up to 1 1/4 miles to take the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes last time out on July 3.

He will be severely tested by this year's 2000 Guineas champ, Haafhd, and by Soviet Song, a 4-year-old filly who followed her neck loss to Refuse to Bend in the Queen Anne with a victory over the previously undefeated Attraction in the one-mile, Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket on July 6.

But they must all beware of Le Vie dei Colori, who is 5 for 6 lifetime going a mile and can upset the Sussex at a price that could be as high as 20-1.