Dettori gives Qatar winning start to Goodwood sponsorship

GOODWOOD, England (AP) Frankie Dettori steered Qatar-owned Galileo Gold to victory on Tuesday in the Qatar Vintage Stakes on the first day of the Goodwood Festival, which now has the oil-and-gas rich Gulf nation as its title sponsor.

Dettorri's 9-2 shot picked up well to get to the lead and galloped on well for a three-quarter-length victory over Ibn Malik in the seven-furlong Group Two race.

The Hugo Palmer-trained Galileo Gold was running for the first time in the Al Shaqab Racing silks of Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al-Thani, who is also sponsoring the meeting.

''I got a good run through on the inside, he was very brave and quickened up very well,'' Dettori said. ''It's the first runner of the meeting for us (Al Shaqab). We've started off with a winner and my boss (Sheikh Joaan) is here today.

''He's put a lot of money in this week and it's nice for him to get a bit of reward back.''

The five-day event - described by Goodwood Racecourse as the ''social highlight of the season'' - is now known as the Qatar Goodwood Festival under a 10-year deal.