We have hit the middle day of the Glorious Goodwood meeting on Thursday as another packed card takes place at the Sussex venue on a day where we will get more of a picture of who might go where later in the season.
The Nassau Stakes is the pick of the races on the Thursday card and it looks a competitive affair but there isn’t much value to be had so we are targeting the undercard for a couple of punts over the course of day three.
1.50 Goodwood
Preview
A 13 strong field head to the start for the opener on Day 3, a 3 year old handicap over a mile & a quarter. Wathan Racing own the favourite in the shape of Midnight Gun who won on handicap debut but was expected to do so. This is going to be tougher. Palace Green had been running well before encountering numerous traffic problems at Royal Ascot but on this track, it’s no certainty that he will get a clear run at this track either. It looks a really competitive race with 5 last time out winners but I’m looking for one that provides each way value & is feasibly handicapped.
Betting
That comes in the form of Mortlake who has only won one of his 5 career starts but I’m certain he’s better than first appears. As a 2 year old, he blitzed his rivals in winning a novice event at Leicester over 7 furlongs. Sticking to that trip, he was a reasonably close 5th in a Group 3 at Sandown where the slow pace was a hindrance before failing to shine on reappearance this year. He fared better upped to a mile last time out but again the pace was against him & he got outpaced before staying on really well. Eased slightly in mark is a plus as is the fast ground, but the biggest positive for me is the additional quarter of a mile he gets here. Conditions look ideal and now, with everything in his favour, he’s poised to put in a really big performance at a very decent price.
Tips
Back Mortlake (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 Unibet (⅕ odds 1-4)
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5.55 Goodwood
Preview
Another 3 year old handicap finishes the day, this time run over a mile & any number of these hold claims. Treasure Time has been progressing well, whilst Qirat ran a cracker to finish 6th in the Britannia at Royal Ascot. Bills Baar, Jungle Mac & Ebts Guard all have very solid handicap form to their names, all having finished in the first 3 on each of their last 4 handicap starts. With the exception of the first named, the other 2 have all seen their handicap marks take a bit of a whack.
Betting
My selection here is another at a ridiculous price & it comes in the shape of Diligent Resdev. He ran once as a 2 year old over an inadequate 6 furlongs but still managed to get up to land the spoils at 33/1 before failing on reappearance when encountering unsuitably soft ground. He then followed up by winning a race in this grade at York, a 15 runner handicap where he came with a withering late run to get up on the line off a 4lb lower mark. It’s worth noting that, nearly 2 lengths back in 3rd was Blue Prince, who was the winner of a handicap here yesterday. That form looks rock solid & whilst he didn’t quite back it up last time, finishing 5th of 10, the way he finished plus the fact he raced on the wrong side of the track in the straight & rain softened ground gives hope there’s plenty more to come. Back on better ground, eased in the handicap & with the extra furlong looking like something he’s crying out for, I’m struggling to see quite where his price is coming from so more than happy to be on each way.
Tips
Back Diligent Resdev (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 Bet365 (⅕ odds 1-5)
