“You'll spot Trawlerman, he's got his goggles on,” says Barry O'Dowd, a long-trusted assistant trainer at Clarehaven.And there he is, a horse who stands out from the crowd on performance alone and whose groovy accessories ensure that he also stands out among his stable-mates gathered now in the trotting ring.Later, on Warren Hill, John Gosden points to the fact that some decent sprinters have passed through his hands, not least Oasis Dream, but that he, and now his co-trainer and son Thady, have come to be considered more as producers of later-developing middle-distance types. There have been plenty of those, of course – Enable, Ombudsman, Golden Horn, Roaring Lion, Jack Hobbs, Benny The Dip, Shantou, Taghrooda, Nathaniel, Masked Marvel, Emily Upjohn, Cracksman, Nashwa and Mishriff to name a particularly select selection. But arguably the names which have the greatest resonance with the racing public are those heart-on-their-sleeve Cup horses, not just for their ability to stay on the track but for simply staying around.Four days after Stradivarius (Sea The Stars) ran his final race in the Qatar Goodwood Cup of 2022 at the age of eight, Trawlerman (Golden Horn) won the 1m6f handicap on the final day of the meeting. He'd already won twice by that stage, mopping up a Pontefract maiden and a Class 2 handicap at Chelmsford over 1m2f, but his Goodwood win, off a mark of 97, underlined the prowess which would see him win the fiercely competitive Ebor Handicap on his next start. Not all stayers make the transition from smart handicapper to top-class Cup contender but, with time and maturity and care, the eight-year-old Trawlerman has become just that. Is he as popular as Stradivarius once was? Perhaps not yet, and maybe that is because he doesn't share that flashy chestnut's show-off tendencies, but make no mistake, the steadfast Trawlerman has ground his way into people's affections.It was Kyprios (Galileo) who got the better of Stradivarius in that last gasper at Goodwood in the race that Stradivarius had made his own every year between 2017 and 2020. Within Clarehaven, the baton passed to Trawlerman, whose various tussles with Kyprios saw Trawlerman gain the upper hand in the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, a race he has now won twice. Once Kyprios had bowed out, Trawlerman beat another Ballydoyle challenger, Illinois (Galileo), in his seven-length romp in last year's Gold Cup before playing his part in the stand-out contest of this year's Royal Ascot when losing out to yet another Aidan O'Brien trainee, Scandinavia (Justify), by a head.“Ah, but don't forget, the older horses give the four-year-olds a pound in the Gold Cup,” says John Gosden. “And a pound over two and a half miles in that heat…”Ding, ding, round two. Trawlerman and Scandinavia will renew that rivalry on the Sussex Downs on the opening day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, a meeting which remains glorious, if not in name. It will be Trawlerman's first time back at Goodwood since that handicap win four years ago, and he has added five Group victories to his record since then, along with some mighty runs in defeat. This year's campaign started a little later than usual – in the Gold Cup itself – owing to the onset of a condition which has made him sensitive to bright light, hence the wearing of shaded goggles everywhere bar his stable and in his races. Trawlerman on Warren Hill | Emma Berry “It was obviously not easy running first time out at Ascot, let alone over two and a half miles for the first time of the year, but he ran a huge race there,” says Thady Gosden.“He's come out of it very well. He's been in fantastic form since, and it's a track he hasn't run at for a long time, but the two miles should suit him well.”He continues, “It's fantastic to have a horse like him. He's by Golden Horn, who was at Clarehaven, too. He's had his issues through the years and he's an older horse now but he's mentally so resilient. He keeps on coming back. “He must have been on Warren Hill thousands of times by now and he goes up there every day like it's his first time – loving it, enjoying it. He came out after the Gold Cup, after a long layoff into that and he had a hard race, but two days later he was bucking and squealing and wanting to do a bit more.“It's a real privilege to have a horse like him, and for Godolphin as well, who bred him. And to end up with a race like we did, over two and a half miles at Ascot, inches between them – I guess it's what it's all about, right? “Goodwood is obviously an incredible midsummer meeting, it's a great place to be, there'll be wonderful crowds, and hopefully it'll deliver the kind of race that people want to see again.”With stable-mate Sweet William (Sea The Stars) having recently been retired after his third-place finish in the Gold Cup, Trawlerman will still have friendly company in the Goodwood Cup in the form of Wathnan Racing's French Master (Frankel), who was last seen finishing a close second to Illinois in the even more stamina-sapping Queen Alexandra Stakes.They will be joined at Goodwood by a number of their fellow Clarehaven residents led by George Stawbridge's homebred Friendly Soul (Kingman), who will contest the G1 Qatar Nassau Stakes. Unbeaten in her final three starts of 2024, culminating in the G1 Prix de l'Opera, her return to the track at the age of five in May after a 20-month absence was marred when she stumbled after putting her foot down a hole which had appeared in the track at Haydock. Happily, she fared better when third to Blue Bolt (Blue Point) in the G2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes. The form of that race has only been enhanced by Blue Bolt's subsequent emphatic win in the G1 Falmouth Stakes. Friendly Soul returns to Group 1 company | Emma Berry “She ran a very nice race at Ascot, didn't really have a typically smooth trip round, but she's come out of it very well,” says Thady Gosden. “A mile and a quarter should suit her well – she's won over a mile and a quarter at Longchamp – and she'll have the speed for the track.”Of the incident at Haydock, he adds, “It was obviously a huge relief for her owner-breeder George Strawbridge, and for all of us, to see her come out of that absolutely fine, which was brilliant.“It was an incredibly sporting decision of Mr Strawbridge. He bred the filly and she's from one of his incredible foundation families. If you look at her pedigree, her second dam isn't even on the page. It's rare to see a family of that quality – I think she's the fourth Group 1 winner from the mare [In Clover] – and it's incredibly sporting to keep her in training at this age.”Another five-year-old mare who could be heading to Goodwood for a longstanding owner-breeder client is Danielle, Anthony Oppenheimer's half-sister to one former Gosden stable star in Courage Mon Ami and by another in Cracksman. “We're going to have to see what happens with the weather,” says Gosden of Danielle's chances of lining up for the G3 Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes a week on Saturday. “At the moment she's in the race, and we'll see what happens through the course of the week. She's in good order in herself and she's another one who gives 120 per cent every day, absolutely loves her training, loves her racing, and I'm sure she'll be wanting to get out on the track.” Danielle and Rab Havlin on Warren Hill | Emma Berry The winner in May of the G3 Bronte Cup, Danielle's prolific family has been very much to the fore this season, both for Oppenheimer and for other owners who have been shrewd enough to invest in his Hascombe & Valiant Stud graduates. These include Godolphin's fellow Cracksman runner Valedictory, a half-brother to Coolmore's recent G1 Saratoga Derby winner Title Role (Too Darn Hot) who has won his last two starts at Goodwood and Newmarket. Valedictory heads for the aforementioned 1m6f Coral Summer Handicap won by Trawlerman four years ago.“He ran a nice race to win over course and distance the time before last and then a slightly tighter race here at Newmarket,” Thady Gosden notes. “We had him in the Ascot Stakes over two and a half miles but perhaps it was a good thing he didn't quite get in there. He's a horse by Cracksman out of a Lemon Drop Kid mare with a nice staying pedigree behind him, but two and a half miles at Ascot might have been a step too far for him at this stage, but who knows in time. He's up a few pounds [to 95] and back over a mile and six at Goodwood should suit him well.”Could we yet see Trawlerman pass the baton to a promising four-year-old stayer within his own yard, just as he filled the void left by Stradivarius? Maybe. But let's not think of what is to come, other than that imminent rematch between Trawlerman and Scandinavia in the Goodwood Cup. A glorious prospect indeed. The post Trawlerman Ready for Battle Once More in Goodwood Cup Showdown appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.