Stradivarius will race on after his gallant effort in defeat in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup.
John and Thady Gosden's stayer thrilled the crowd with his late charge in the feature race, but he could not quite overhaul younger rival Kyprios.
Just a neck separated the principals as they flashed past the post, with Stradivarius narrowly conceding his unbeaten track record. Racegoers applauded him as the made his return at the picturesque venue, but connections confirmed they will have the chance to see him again this season.
Owner-breeder Bjorn Nielsen told ITV : "We're not going to say goodbye after that. He ran today with all his usual enthusiasm and he's still training well, so there's no point stopping in the middle of the season. These are the best stayers around and it looked a tremendous race going into it.
"It was a great performance and I'm happy to go on for at least one more run. York (Lonsdale Cup) would be on the cards as it suits him a lot – they have long straights and it's difficult to box him in there."
Third in the Ascot Gold Cup behind Kyprios, Stradivarius edged closer this time in the thrilling clash between the top stayers. Once again the 20-time winner did not enjoy the smoothest passage through, as Trueshan swept to his outside at the top of the straight.
Switched by Andrea Atzeni, riding in place of Frankie Dettori, Stradivarius ran on strongly up the inside. Owner Bjorn Nielsen felt the distance the first two were apart made the difference in the closing stages.
"The front two were a long way apart and I don't know whether it was competitive enough for him then," he added. "If he was upsides it might have been a different story."
Andrea Atzeni said his mount "ran his heart out" chasing a fifth win in the race – and agreed with Nielsen's post-race summary.
"Maybe he just got a bit lonely on his own, but he ran to the line as a champion and you can’t take that away from him," he added.
Kyprios is 3-1 with Paddy Power to retain his Ascot Gold Cup in 2023. It was a third win in the Goodwood contest for trainer Aidan O’Brien, who had previously taken the spoils with the outstanding Yeats in 2006 and 2008.
