Tom Marquand was the star of Goodwood

On no course in Britain does jockeyship count for more than at undulating, tricksy Goodwood and although Frankie Dettori was able, on his final appearance there, to treat the expectant crowd to a couple of flying dismounts after victories on Epictetus and Kinross, the week’s top rider was clearly Tom Marquand. One racing sage told me during the week, ‘Racing will desperately need another Frankie to engage the public’s attention’ – and when I proffered Tom and his wife Hollie Doyle as a twosome who could do so together, the rejoinder was: ‘Of course Tom’s got the ability but he’s just too nice.’ He meant that you simply couldn’t imagine Tom Marquand winning headlines by stealing another jockey’s whip mid-race like Lester Piggott or scrumping a trainer’s cigars.

But what we did see from Marquand T. at Goodwood was a masterclass in opportunism, timing and sheer courage. On Hughie Morrison’s long-striding Quickthorn Tom simply stole the Goodwood Cup by going more than 20 lengths clear of the field, getting the fractions exactly right for the rest of the two miles and still having six lengths left at the line. He’d won the Lonsdale Cup at York on Quickthorn last year the same way.

This time Tom declared post-race: ‘There’s no masterplan with him. Down at the gates Frankie looked across and joked “Are you going to drop him in?” [i.e. hold Quickthorn up at the back], because everybody knows what he’s going to do and they can’t stop him.’ Tom insisted that the other jockeys shouldn’t be criticised for letting Quickthorn get away, adding, ‘He’s a relentless galloper and you think no horse can keep that up. I wouldn’t be putting down the other lads in behind.