CLASSIC Cliche swept to a record breaking success in the East Coast Yorkshire Cup at York yesterday to leave connections eyeing numerous staying prizes in the summer.
The St Leger winner shaved 15 hundredths of a second off the previous best time on the way to a convincing defeat of Strategic Choice. Michael Kinane completing a double and riding his seventh winner of the York meeting found reserves when his mount was joined by the runner up with two furlongs to go.
Classic Cliche was giving Go dolphin, Sheikh Mohammed's Dubai operation, another big race success and there could be plenty more to come.
At this stage we don't know whether to go for the Gold Cup or take him back in distance for something like the Hardwicke Stakes," said Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford.
Trainer David Nicholls celebrated his first Group race success but admitted the triumph had been spoiled because his jockey wife Alex Greaves had been prevented from playing her part.
With Ray Cochrane in the saddle, Venture Capitalist produced a gutsy performance to edge out Branston Abby and Royale Figurine by a head and the same in the Group Three Duke of York Stakes.
Greaves was forced to sit out the race because she was serving the last day of a ban for misuse of the whip when the gelding finished runner up at Newmarket last time.
Venture Capitalist, owned by Yorkshire farmer Bill Swiers, will now try to add to his laurels in the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Strategic Choice has the Breeders' Cup Turf as his long term target but will be aimed at a Group One race in Milan next time. Cochrane teed up a double when Missile hit the target in the Lamb son Knight Air Handicap.
William Haggas's colt, dropped 2lb by the handicapper a few weeks ago despite not having a race this season, squeezed home by a head from Winter Romance.
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