Cavalryman leads the charge in Goodwood Cup

Cavalryman showed he was as good as ever at the age of eight as he powered to victory in the Artemis Goodwood Cup.

Godolphin’s eight-year-old became the first horse of that age to take this historic prize since Persian Punch as he warded off his Saeed bin Suroor-trained stable companion Ahzeemah.

Last year’s winner Brown Panther was third, while The Queen’s Estimate faded tamely in the straight to be a big disappointment.

Kieren Fallon took Cavalryman (5-1) into the lead two furlongs out and he soon put the race to bed, but Ahzeemah put in a late surge and was only a neck down at the line, with Brown Panther taking the minor honours, four and a half lengths away.

Fallon said: “He’s a tough horse. It’s a very difficult race to win but he’s gone from strength to strength.

“The pace wasn’t great, it was OK, but this horse has a fantastic turn of foot.

“I thought I was clear — I didn’t think there was another horse coming at me — but he had enough.”

Bin Suroor said: “He’s a good fighter, he goes on any ground and he has improved with age.

“He’s a stayer and a mile and three-quarters and two miles are the best trip for him.

"He showed some turn of foot and now we take him to York for the two-mile race, the Lonsdale, and at the end of the season I will talk to Sheikh Mohammed, but it could be the Melbourne Cup.

“Ahzeemah, also, he could be a horse for the Melbourne Cup, too.”

Dreams of the Melbourne Cup for Estimate, who finished last, now appear over.

Trained by Michael Stoute, the mare won the Ascot Gold Cup in 2013 and was only narrowly denied by Leading Light in her bid for back-to-back successes in the race in June.

However, her Gold Cup display has been overshadowed after the five-year-old was one of seven horses to have tested positive for morphine, which is thought to have appeared in her system due to contaminated feed.

John Warren, The Queen's racing and bloodstock advisor, said: "Ryan (Moore) said she was never happy, right from the moment he jumped off.

"I think it's like the time she ran here before in the Lily Langtry, she just didn't handle the track.

“We wondered if she was in season, Michael didn’t think so, so we’ll settle on the track.

“It’s complicated now. We hoped if she did well today we’d be brave enough to go for the Irish St Leger, to stop off and see if she had enough to go for the Melbourne Cup.

“That was on the back-burner as an idea but as she doesn’t handle soft ground, there are so few options for her.

“I think we’re back to the drawing board now. But I think after today (Melbourne) is probably out of the window.”