Paddington, Inspiral Head Stellar Sussex Stakes

If you put up £1 million and get the best 3-year-old colt in Europe and the best older filly or mare in training, you probably feel you have just about achieved your aim, and the Aug. 2 Qatar Sussex Stakes (G1) looks primed to deliver. Paddington (GB) and Inspiral (GB) have three group 1 victories apiece, with Paddington having accumulated his hat trick in a stunning run this term that has encompassed the Irish Two Thousand Guineas (G1), St James's Palace Stakes (G1), and the Eclipse Stakes (G1). The regularity with which Paddington has been able to deliver top-class performances has earned him comparisons with one of Aidan O'Brien's most storied former trainees, the original "Iron Horse" that was Giant's Causeway. Before his group 1 spree, Paddington had already run—and won—twice, in a Naas handicap and then the listed Tetrarch Stakes, with his five wins coming at ever-diminishing intervals of 36, 26, 24, and 18 days. A gap of 25 days from his defeat of Emily Upjohn (GB) in the Eclipse to the Sussex continues his busy schedule, with O'Brien reporting the son of Siyouni (FR)to be thriving on his workload. "He's done well since Sandown, although we haven't done a whole lot with him given it wasn't too long ago," O'Brien told the Racing Post. "He's a very well-balanced horse, so we think he will handle Goodwood no problem." With the forecast offering the promise of more rain overnight, O'Brien won't be one of those trainers fretting over how much clerk of the course Ed Arkell's rain gauge fills up. "As regards the ground, he's won on all sorts of surfaces," said O'Brien. "It was heavy the first day he won this season at Naas and then soft in the Tetrarch before he moved on to some quicker ground in the Irish Guineas. So he seems quite versatile on that front and we've been very happy with him at home." Inspiral Aims to Revive Memories From 2022 If Inspiral's group 1 heroics date from a little further back than those of her Ballydoyle rival, they have been no less impressive, while her belated comeback in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1) was anything but a disappointment. Cheveley Park's homebred daughter of Frankel (GB)proved herself the leader of her generation among the fillies at 2 and again at 3, running up a trio of group 1 wins in the 2021 Fillies' Mile, the 2022 Coronation Stakes, and then a first win against the colts in the Prix Jacques le Marois. In between the second and third of those successes she ran flat when second to Prosperous Voyage (IRE) in the Falmouth Stakes (G1), and the Gosden team drew the lesson that she ideally likes a bit of space between her runs. That certainly looks to have been the thinking in waiting for Goodwood, after Inspiral put in a big effort on her seasonal reappearance in the Queen Anne Stakes (G1), finding only Triple Time (IRE) too strong. "She ran a great race in the Queen Anne and this has been the plan since then," said joint-trainer Thady Gosden. "She's had a nice break and has been pleasing us in training at home. Obviously she's taking on Paddington, who is an exceptional 3-year-colt, but we're expecting a good run." Inspiral was slightly sluggishly into stride in both the QEII and the Queen Anne, something connections will hope does not become a regular habit.