John Gosden blames Courage Mon Ami’s Lonsdale Cup defeat at York on Group 1 penalty

John Gosden believes the Group 1 penalty carried by Courage Mon Ami cost him glory in the Lonsdale Cup following his gallant defeat behind Coltrane at York in the Group 2.

The four-year-old was shouldered with 3lb extra weight in the 2m½f contest compared to the Andrew Balding-trained winner following his triumph in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in June.

He was still sent off the 5-2 favourite and stayed on under Frankie Dettori to finish second by one and a half lengths.

However, according to Gosden, it could have been a different result if they raced off level-weights. His star will step back up in trip for his next start, with a bid for successive wins in the Gold Cup next year already the major target.

“He ran a nice race but he ran out of track. Look at the form of the Gold Cup and he had a 3lb penalty – and 3lb over two miles. That was the difference,” Gosden said. “A little more distance would have suited him too.

“All being well he’ll go to the Prix du Cadran at Longchamp, back up to two and a half miles, which is his favourite. Then we’ll put him away and if all goes well, he’ll be back for the Gold Cup next year.”

Coltrane (Oisin Murphy) beats Courage Mon Ami in the Lonsdale CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

Stunning front-running Goodwood Cup winner Quickthorn was unable to repeat his remarkable tactics and faded to finish 13 and a quarter lengths behind in sixth – last of the completed runners.

The Hughie Morrison-trained six-year-old also used them perfectly for a dominant win in the Lonsdale Cup last year, but his rider Tom Marquand admitted he felt below-par.

“He was probably a bit flat,” he said. “It was always going to be tough to replicate what he did at Goodwood and here last year.

“If you put it into perspective, Coltrane was 14 lengths behind him in this race last year on the same ground. That suggests Quickthorn just probably wasn’t up to his best.”

Read these next:

‘Top-class stayer’ Coltrane returns to winning ways in the Lonsdale Cup under Oisin Murphy 

‘That was a wow moment for me’ – Paul Hanagan defeated but proud after his final ride

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