Clive Cox won the Markel Richmond Stakes for the third time in seven years as Coppull ran out a comfortable winner at Goodwood, in a race run in torrential rain.
Following on from Golden Horde in 2019 and Supremacy 12 months later, Cox bided his time with the son of Bated Breath after a meritorious run at Royal Ascot.
He finished third behind Gstaad in the Coventry Stakes there and paid the winner a handsome compliment, always looking in control under David Probert.
Aidan O’Brien’s Puerto Rico finished second for the third race in a row, but never looked like getting on terms with the two-length winner.
Eve Johnson Houghton’s Havana Hurricane was last at the halfway stage and while he did make plenty of progress, his run eventually flattened out and he finished third.
Cox said: “I was worried about soft ground because he’s got such a beautiful action on a nice surface. He’s very quick and did that really well.
“I’m still not sure he’ll go on really soft ground so if we’d been in the next race it would have been harder work, but he’s still very good and he showcased that today.
“I think he’s very gifted and he’s a proper six-furlong horse so usual plans from here, Middle Park will be the end goal.”
O’Brien said of Puerto Rico: ‘‘I’m very happy with that. It was a lovely run and I’d say he’d be happy going up to seven furlongs.”
Johnson Houghton felt the rain had already got into the ground, blunting Havana Hurricane’s speed.
She said: “The ground was just a bit loose and that impacted on his turn of foot, but he’s run a lovely race.
“I’m really pleased, the horse in front is rated 102 and the horse in front of him is rated 104 – we’ve turned the form around with Maximised so I’m happy.
“He tries really hard, he’s an absolute legend and we love him.”
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