8 lesser known facts about Stradivarius

Features | 8^th October 2019

The superstar stayer Stradivarius is aiming to complete a second season unbeaten in the Long Distance Cup on Saturday 19^th October at QIPCO British Champions Day.

On Europe’s richest raceday, Stradivarius will likely go off as the shortest price favourite of the day such is the reputation he’s built himself over the last few years.

That incredible turn of foot in the final furlongs, so rare for a stayer has put him in a class above his rivals.

To celebrate his incredible career to date. Here’s 10 facts that you may not know about Stradivarius:

1) Stradivarius has gone two better than Frankel and chalked up a remarkable 11 Champions Series wins.

2) John Gosden calls him the ‘Mighty Mouse’ because he’s not very big.

3) He was bred to be a Derby horse, John Gosden even said, “if you had told us early on he would be a Cup horse I’d have laughed at you, but he’s got over every hurdle and more.”

4) He faced stiff competition from an early stage on the racecourse, on his second start he finished 4^th in a Newmarket maiden behind a pretty remarkable stablemate, Cracksman, who’d go on to become the world’s highest-rated horse.

5) He’s earned £4.45 million in prize money (including bonuses!), but this would still not be enough to allow owner Bjorn Nielsen to purchase a Stradivarius Violin – the last one sold at auction for £9.8 million!

6) Stradivarius and Frankie won the Ascot Gold Cup for a second year running in June, but the Chestnut horse isn’t the first back-to-back Gold Cup winner that Dettori has ridden. He achieved the feat back in 1992/93 aboard Drum Taps.

7) Stradivarius is Frankie Dettori’s winning-most partner this season, the pair have won five times together.

8) Stradivarius is the only horse to win three Goodwood Cups in a row. Double Trigger the only other horse to win the race three times, achieved the feat over a four year span.