The Trawlerman camp are eagerly anticipating another thrilling contest when their veteran stayer goes head-to-head with Scandinavia for the second time in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup.
Aidan O'Brien's Justify colt snatched the crown from the eight-year-old after two-and-a-half miles of gripping Gold Cup drama at Royal Ascot, where just a head divided the pair at the line. The stage is now set for a rematch, with Scandinavia arriving as the reigning champion and the division's most exciting emerging force.
Yet this is also a race in which John and Thady Gosden have carved out considerable success over the years, courtesy of four-time winner Stradivarius, and they remain confident their current long-distance standard-bearer will give everything once more.
Gosden on the Rivalry
Thady Gosden said: "What is fantastic in the staying division is you have horses that people know and have been around for a long time. To have an older horse like Trawlerman, who has done it all before and is trying to maintain his level, and then a younger horse in Scandinavia coming to take him on is brilliant."
"At the end of two and a half miles at Ascot there were only inches between them, which is I guess what it is all about. Hopefully they will deliver a race everyone wants to see again."
Trawlerman ran a huge race against Scandinavia at Ascot and we'll have to see how we get on against him this time. But he's in great form and I'm sure he will put up a great fight.
"The Goodwood Cup is a fantastic race to win. It's one of the main staying races in the middle of the summer and it would be fantastic to see him run a big one in it."
Trawlerman's Goggles and Spirit
Not only was Trawlerman making his seasonal debut in the Gold Cup, but it also marked the first occasion he had been spotted on a racecourse wearing the goggles he now dons during the preliminaries.
They will be back on display when he heads to the Sussex Downs, with the Gosdens brimming with admiration for the staying power of a horse that has worked his way steadily up through the ranks during his time at Clarehaven to become one of the Newmarket yard's most beloved names.
Gosden continued: "The goggles are an unusual thing that I guess you don't see very often, or ever really, he wears them every day (to help with an eye condition) and it seems to work.
"It's great to have a horse with his mentality. He has had his issues and is an older horse now, but he is mentally so resilient."
"He must have been up Warren Hill thousands of times by now, but he's up here every day loving it and enjoying it like it's his first time. He had a long layoff before the Gold Cup and a hard race, but was back out here two days later bucking and squealing wanting to do a bit more."
"It's a real privilege to have him and he's rare. You don't need to do anything different to keep him interested and he's always up for it, always enjoying it. I'm sure one day he will move on to do something else, but when that day comes I'm sure he'll miss us and this as much as we will miss him."
