Cotai gives Hills first British Group winner

Cotai Glory shone as brightly as the Glorious Goodwood sunshine yesterday as he offered Charlie Hills some respite with his first British Group winner of the season in the bet365 Molecomb Stakes.

Professionally, this has been a difficult year for the young trainer, with his Breeders’ Cup star Chriselliam having to be put down and several of his other big names failing to reach their potential, while the smart Strath Burn was one of the horses to test positive for morphine in the recent contaminated food case.

So speedy was Cotai Glory (3-1) on his return to five furlongs that he broke the two-year-old track record by resisting the challenges of Fast Act and Richard Hannon’s 10-11 favourite Beacon by half a length and a head.