Teak put up a gritty staying performance to land the Goodwood Stakes, the opening race on the second day of the 2014 Glorious meeting.

Patiently ridden by Silvestre de Sousa, Teak was brought with a strong and sustained challenge from two furlongs out to outstay Ray Ward by a length and a quarter.

The 33/1 chance had only two behind him at the top of the hill, but SDS didn’t panic, and knowing that Teak was a thorough stayer.

Teak has now won five times for Ian, and six times in all, and Ian a second success in the Goodwood Stakes, having won this race with Baddam in 2008.

Ian said this after the race:  “We had a discussion with the owners this morning and I thought we should try and be a bit handier with him, but Michael said we should take a chance, tuck in and take our time. Teak was always getting there.

“He switched off  during the race – he was far too keen in the visor during his race at York last time over two miles, but we fitted it because that is his minimum trip and we wanted him to get into the race.

“He had run very well over two and a quarter miles at Pontefract and two and a half is more a specialist distance. The big worry was the favourite [Maid In Rio] but one or two of them haven’t stayed and his staying has come into his own.

“He is a great character. He is a real gentleman, everybody at home loves him, and he doesn’t show his best until he gets these opportunities of running over extreme distances, and there aren’t very many of them.

“I will probably send him hurdling – that is what we are looking forward to. We were very disappointed to get him beaten off a mark of 110 over hurdles last summer, but that was over two miles and he stays an awful lot further. He loves fast ground and is a great dual-purpose horse, but there are not many opportunities for him on the Flat because he struggles to get into the bottom of these big handicaps. 

“It’s great when you win any race at Goodwood, whether it’s the staying race or the sprint. It’s great for the owners, it’s decent prize money and the horse has done a great job today. There are still lots of fun days to have with him during the autumn. He loves the firm ground.”