Namibian strikes Gordon gold

NAMIBIAN gave Mark Johnston his 50th Glorious Goodwood winner with a performance characteristic of so many of the trainer’s best horses in the bet365 Gordon Stakes.

Namibian (7-1) has followed a typically arduous programme mapped out by Johnston, starting off through Listed races before winning the Queen’s Vase over two miles at Royal Ascot, but his appetite for a battle had certainly not diminished as he fought off the attentions of the hot favourite Fiorente by a neck.

Silvestre De Sousa, increasingly Johnston’s jockey of choice these days, found himself alongside Ryan Moore and Fiorente in the home straight after a lethargic pace set by Well Sharp and there was very little between the pair all the way to the line.