The Glorious Goodwood meeting gets underway on Tuesday with all eyes on the Sussex venue for what should be an excellent five days of racing. We have been in good form at the major meetings so far in 2018 and will be hoping for more success over the course of the week beginning with three bets across the card on the opening day of action.
3.35 Goodwood: Qatar Goodwood Cup
The big price on Day 1 is the Goodwood Cup over 2 miles. It looks a shootout between Ascot Gold Cup 1st & 3rd, Stradivarius & Torcedor, with the former expected to come out on top again. I am intrigued by O’Brien’s Idaho now stepped up in trip but with only 7 runners & 2 places on offer, I’ll sit this out.
1.50 Goodwood
Preview
A good looking handicap to start Glorious Goodwood & a very open heat to boot. The Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum pair, Afaak & Alfarris, head the market & both of them are in good form with a win & 2nd from their last 2 starts. Both are up in mark but are open to further improvement. Personally, I’d prefer Afaak of the 2 but Crowley has opted to ride Alfarris so I’ve decided to ignore both.
Betting
There are 2 that I want onside, the first of which is Silver Line. A winner on his debut as a 2 year old, he’s failed to get his nose in front since but has plenty in his favour today. He’s been campaigned in pattern company unless this year where he started off in Meydan running in 4 handicaps over 6 and 7 furlongs. He was noted as “running on” in each run, suggesting the trip was inadequate. Being out of Dubawi, I’d say he needs a stiffer test. He was dropped 3lbs after those runs in Dubai and, after a 3 month break, he was 3rd in a mile handicap at Sandown where again he was noted as running on all too late. With a decent draw in 5, a very useful 5lb claimer, a further 2 furlongs albeit on an easier track & a trainer in top form, he looks primed for a big run.
Bottom weight Tuff Rock is the 2nd one I like. He won his maiden here last summer over this trip & since then he’s been pretty consistent. He was 4th on his seasonal debut in the Rosebery at Kempton before being beaten in a head bobber when stepped up to a mile & a half at Thirsk. On his next run in a hot handicap at York, he was only 6th of 7 but did look set to challenge but he just didn’t see out the final quarter of a mile as well as his rivals. He then moved yards & was 2nd behind Teodoro where again I’m not sure he appreciated the trip. Back to 1 mile 2 furlongs, I think that could make all the difference & with a decent pace likely, he might be the one most likely to pick up the pieces late on.
Tips
Back Silver Line (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 9.00 William Hill BOG (⅕ odds 1-4)
Back it here:
Back Tuff Rock (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 13.00 Boylesports BOG (⅕ odds 1-4)
Back it here:
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5.15 Goodwood
Preview
Another handicap to close the card for 3 year olds upwards. Only 2 of the field are older than 3, with plenty of unexposed types in the field. In the 2 previous runnings of this race, there’s only been 2 older horses gone off at less than 20/1 & both of them have placed. That’s interesting considering the one I want to back is one of the 4 year olds.
Betting
From a top Northern yard, Lady In Question is the filly in question. A winner of 3 of her 22 races, she’s remarkably consistent with form figures of 14323 this season. In fact she’s been in the first 4 in each of his last 12 starts. She won on his reappearance off a mark of 76 (off 78 today) & since then has run well in defeat. This is the first time she’s raced over a mile which is expected to suit & the easy turning track is also in her favour. She has a nice low draw which will suit her prominent racing style & with a good jockey booking, I think she will run a big race at a big price.
Tips
Back Lady In Question (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 Paddy Power BOG (⅕ odds 1-4)
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