Onto day four of Glorious Goodwood, and both Tasleet and Quest For More gave our limited selections a chance of a decent return, but Tasleet was well beaten by the impressive Shalaa whilst Quest For More was beaten into a narrow second for the second time this season. Without further ado, we’ll move onto our selections for what looks to be a cracking Friday.
2:00 – Group 3, 1m4f, 4yo+. We begin with the short-priced favourite, The Corsican, and he has one of those profiles I often mention and love to see – consistent improvements in RPRs throughout his career. In this case, The Corsican has progressed from 77 on his 3yo debut to a mark of 118 when 4th at Royal Ascot – and given the three horses in front of him that day were Free Eagle, The Grey Gatsby and Western Hymn, it’s certainly a respectable effort and one that makes him the one to beat today. Connecticut is also fancied to run a big race for the duo of Luca Cumani and Adam Kirby, whilst Al Shaqab Racing are represented by their star from Qatar, Dubday. However, at a slightly bigger price our alternative selection is Mark Johnston’s Watersmeet, who ran a huge race when second to stablemate Notarised at Haydock last time out, having also run well at Royal Ascot.
Selection: THE CORSICAN
Alternative: WATERSMEET
2:35 – Group 3, 1m, 3yo. Godolphin’s Latharnach, for Charlie Appleby and William Buick, is unsurprisingly favourite after his excellent second to Gleneagles in the St James’s Palace Stakes at a huge price of 25/1, which naturally represented easily the best performance of his career. However, the market may well have overreacted to that and I’m happy to leave him at this price. When I looked at this card my eyes were immediately drawn to Convey, who has been in my tracker since his excellent debut victory over 7f at Kempton last October. All-weather maidens might not always be the best guide, but it didn’t do Jack Hobbs any harm this season, and he is obviously well-regarded by connections being plunged straight back into a Group 3. He is without a doubt a risk, but one I’m willing to take. Aktabanay is a decent horse but was well held by Latharnach at Royal Ascot, and tailed off in a hot race at Chantilly last time out. Instead we’ll go for Moheet, who is lightly-raced and looks to have more to come. He clearly wasn’t up to the test when 10th in The Derby, but this looks easier and so he could run well at the price dropped back down in both grade and trip.
Selection: CONVEY
Alternative: MOHEET
3:10 – Class 2 Handicap, 1m, 3yo+. A 20-runner minefield, and whilst GM Hopkins is of obvious appeal following his Royal Hunt Cup victory, Trip To Paris’ narrow defeat yesterday was just one example of where carrying top weight in these competitive fields can prove vital at the finish. Therefore our first selection is the highly-impressive Basem, a full brother to Farhh who has done everything asked of him in his two victories from two starts this season. With top jockey James Doyle on board, he should get a decent position and use his finishing speed to good effect. Right at the bottom of the weights is a horse Mrs Derek Potter is a big fan of, Donncha. Winner of three races this season, including at Goodwood, he ran well to finish third in a similarly competitive handicap at Ascot on Saturday, and is effectively 2lbs well-in for that run here. At the overnight prices he is definitely one to have on our side.
Selection: BASEM
Alternative: DONNCHA
3:45 – Group 2, 5f, 3yo+. Muthmir certainly looks better over this minimum trip than he does over 6f, and if he settles can use his acceleration to devastating effect at the business end of the race. Paul Hanagan knows this gelding well and has ridden him in his two career-best performances, when winning at Chantilly in May and when third in the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot. However, our two selections come from the same race at York a few weeks ago. Out Do won narrowly that day over 5f on the Knavesmire, and whilst he was giving weight to the third-placed horse Cotai Glory, he was receiving 4lbs from Line Of Reason for sprint king Paul Midgley. Out Do is a very consistent horse for a very consistent trainer in David O’Meara, and so I expect both he and Line Of Reason to give a decent running of their races today.
Selection: OUT DO
Alternative: LINE OF REASON
4:20 – Class 2 Nursery, 6f, 2yo. At 6/1 the field, this is a very open race and so I’m going to stick with a method that has proven very profitable for punters this week – start with Mark Johnston. Highly Sprung is 4lb well in here after his victory last week, and whilst I have previously mentioned jockey bookings as a factor, Mark Johnston also likes to keep winning combinations together and as it was Silvestre De Sousa who rode him at Catterick, he keeps the ride here. William Buick’s record when riding for Johnston is remarkable, and so that makes Furiant look a huge price at a best-priced 18s at the time of writing. Belvoir Bay and Wedge both look to have decent chances for the Richard Hannon yard, although Tom Marquand’s 5lb claim could prove vital.
Selection: FURIANT
Alternative: WEDGE
4:55 – Group 3 Fillies and Mares, 7f, 3yo+. Osaila has been a filly I have followed with interest this season, and whilst she didn’t run to her best in the 1000 Guineas, she more than made up for that in the Sandringham Stakes at Royal Ascot when giving plenty of weight away but still finding enough to scrape home. She looks set to run another big race here, as does New Providence for Hugo Palmer. Beaten a short head by Osaila in the Nell Gwyn Stakes at Newmarket in April, she has since found success at 6f but could well find more for this step back up in trip. Kiyoshi and Fadhayyil are the other main market protagonists, and it would be a big surprise if the winner doesn’t come from those four. However, I am happy to chance the first two mentioned at the prices.
Selection: NEW PROVIDENCE
Alternative: OSAILA
5:30 – Class 3 Handicap, 1m3f, 3yo. This race sees that rare beast – a lightly-raced Mark Johnston horse. Rhythmical has raced just once in her career to date, winning at Leicester on debut two weeks ago. It is no surprise to see her turned out again this month, but this looks another challenge altogether and at a general 7/1 she doesn’t make a huge amount of appeal. Tashaar tops the betting for Richard Hannon and Frankie Dettori, but his weight penalty for a colt considered too weak to race as a 2yo might just prove too much here. Instead we’ll go for a couple of double-figure priced horses in the hope we can get some value. Master Zephyr, under Richard Hughes for Roger Charlton, and Newera, for the Tom Dascombe / Richard Kingscote combination, both won last time out and whilst both have gone up in the weights, the experience they have could prove vital in this race.
Selection: NEWERA
Alternative: MASTER ZEPHYR
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