Cecil lords it at Goodwood

LORD Shanakill made his Group One form count when taking the Betfair Cup on the opening day at Glorious Goodwood yesterday.

Last year’s Prix Jean Prat winner has spent most of his career with the currently disqualified Karl Burke but after a brief stint in America he joined Henry Cecil, who has rather rebuilt the son of Speightstown from scratch this season.

Cecil had tried Lord Shanakill at distances between six furlongs and a mile, but an easy recent victory in a seven-furlong Listed race at Chester provided proof of his optimum distance and his determined finish under Tom Queally to lift the Group Two prize (better known as the Lennox Stakes) by a head means a step back up to championship level is now in the offing.