York braced for bonus fever Officials at York racecourse are excited about the prospect of Stradivarius bidding to win the 1 million pound Weatherbys Hamilton Stayers' bonus. John Gosden's four-year-old started his season by winning the Yorkshire Cup in May, which was one of four potential starting points to trigger the incentive. He has since added the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and the Goodwood Cup and puts it all on the line on Friday week in the Lonsdale Cup. York chief executive William Derby said: "It's really exciting stuff. I went to the launch of the bonus back in April and there was a huge amount of scepticism, not unreasonably, about whether the bonus was realistic, let alone achievable, so for a horse to be in contention going into the last leg in its first year is amazing. "We’re hugely proud and excited to be staging the last leg and I think it will be an interesting race. "Obviously Torcedor gets a 3lb pull from Goodwood with this being a Group Two so it will be interesting to see whether he can make up the difference (half a length) which makes for a fascinating race." Gosden has given Stradivarius a clean bill of health as he aims to land a famous four-timer. He said: "He is in great nick and has come out of Goodwood fine. He is still heading to the Lonsdale at York."
