Clive Cox backing Orthodox to bounce back in Middle Park

Late September sunshine has given Clive Cox renewed confidence ahead of Orthodox’s bid to get back on track in the Tattersalls Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.

The son of Havana Grey was a brilliant winner of the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and after a bad scope ruled him out of an intended next step in the Prix Robert Papin, he was met with less than ideal underfoot conditions when a well held sixth behind Senorita Bonita in the Prix Morny.

Despite that Deauville defeat, the Lambourn handler retains the utmost faith in his speedy youngster, who is likely to encounter more favourable conditions when he heads to the Rowley Mile on Saturday for a race Cox has won previously with Reckless Abandon (2012) and Supremacy (2020), who like Orthodox carried the colours of owner Jason Goddard.

“It was very much the ground that blunted him at Deauville, there was a lot of rain and it had crusted over on top,” said Cox. “Getting there before the race I thought we would be all right but with half a ton of horse galloping on it, it sadly turned out not to be the case.

“We’ve been happy with him since then and I’ve been really pleased with his work and I’m delighted with the forecast. At this time of year you can’t bank on anything so the forecast is a very welcome sight.”

Stablemate Coppull upheld stable honour when third in the Middle Park last year, but he was another to suffer in testing conditions on his most recent outing when down the field in Haydock’s Sprint Cup.

That first run on soft ground was a rare blip in what has otherwise been a fine campaign for the son of Bated Breath, who won a Group Three at Ascot on his seasonal return and finished fourth in the July Cup before successfully stepping up to seven furlongs in the Hungerford Stakes.

The three-year-old could have one final outing this term in the Qatar Racing British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot on October 17, but Cox would be happy to put him away until next year if conditions on Champions Day are deemed unsuitable.

“The soft ground at Haydock was a territory we always thought we’d tackle one day but it simply wasn’t to be – he just couldn’t handle it at all,” Cox added.

“Hector(Crouch) was really sensible on him on the day and he’s come out of the race super.

“It will be dependent on the weather if he runs again this year or not, but the Champions Day sprint could be there for him if it does remain dry. He’s done so well both last year and this, he’s a dual Group Two winner and Group One-placed and he remains being worthy of being excited about for the future.”

Meanwhile, Cox’s Middleham Park Racing-owned youngster Satellite Of Love saw his rating rise above three figures after pushing Night In Vegas close in a valuable juvenile event at Doncaster, a performance again that leaves his handler buoyant for the future.

Cox said: “I’m extremely proud he’s got a rating now of 105, which confirms he produced another lofty performance. He’s got a wonderful attitude and has done really well.

“He’s a horse we can get really excited about for next year hopefully, but whether he runs again this year I’m not sure yet.”