GOODWOOD, ENGLAND // Opinion Poll and Lost In Moment bid to lift the gloom surrounding Godolphin today by following up Schiaparelli's win two years ago in the Goodwood Cup.
It has been a rough week for the Dubai-based operation. The team had barely come to terms with the death of Rewilding on Saturday when Frankie Dettori almost missed racing on the first day of Goodwood's Glorious meeting.
The helicopter that was supposed to fly Dettori from his base in Newmarket to Goodwood suffered a technical hitch on Tuesday and the Italian jockey was forced to take a car for the 230km journey.
His delay resulted in Ted Durcan having to don the Royal Blue silks to ride Hunter's Light in the Gordon Stakes, won by Namibian. Dettori just made it to the Sussex Downs in time to partner Delegator in the Lennox Stakes, but barely had the pair emerged from the starting stalls when the horse sustained an injury to a hind leg.
The rain-affected turf was also an issue for Delegator, who trailed in last, 10 lengths behind the winner, Strong Suit. On the back of Cavalryman's disappointing run on Sunday, when he finished last in the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin in Germany, Godolphin need a lift.
"Opinion Poll keeps galloping all the way to the line and we have been very unlucky not to win with him so far this year," Mahmood Al Zarooni, his trainer, said. "His last piece of work was very pleasing and he has run well at Goodwood before, so the course should be no problem. He deserves to win a big contest."
sports@thenational.ae
