FIVE days of Glorious Goodwood are likely to produce plenty of good betting opportunities, but the opening day’s feature, the Goodwood Cup (3.35pm), doesn’t look to be one of them.
That’s because Kyprios, who has once again reasserted his dominance over the staying division after returning from injury, looks a tough horse to oppose as he bids for his second Goodwood Cup.
Aidan O’Brien’s six-year-old showed all the class and battling qualities of a top-class stayer when winning the Gold Cup at Ascot last time, beating a gutsy rival in Trawlerman into second, with a long gap to Sweet William in third.
With no Trawlerman lining up here, perhaps Sweet William can chase Kyprios home this time and be the one for the forecast.
The race of the day looks to be the World Pool Lennox Stakes (3.00pm), where two-time race winner Kinross is bound to be popular.
I do have my doubts about whether Ralph Beckett’s seven-year-old is quite the horse he was though, especially after a lacklustre run in the July Cup last time out. He faces younger rivals here and I see him being vulnerable.
English Oak is the biggest improver in the field and won in the style of a Group horse last time out in the Buckingham Palace at the Royal Meeting.
This will require more though, and he does look to have work to do to turn around form with Noble Dynasty on their Newmarket meeting in May, especially with the Godolphin rival now much better off at the weights.
I’m looking outside the top of the market for my main selection, as I think William Haggas’ TIBER FLOW could be a different horse over this seven-furlong trip.
After running over six furlongs on his two previous starts this season, he was stepped up in trip in the Group Three John Of Gaunt at Haydock and created a striking impression, particularly in the final furlong.
He’s now won three of his four starts over seven furlongs and it could be that he’s finally found his niche.
With World Pool in operation for the first three days of Goodwood, I’ll definitely be backing Haggas’ charge in the win and place markets at odds of around 6/1.
World Pool offers plenty of exotic markets too, and a Quinella is a great bet for tight races like this as it gives you several goes at picking the first two home.
The obvious selections are ENGLISH OAK, with plenty of improvement still to come, and NOBLE DYNASTY, who is building up a very consistent profile, and I’ll be including them both in a Quinella with main selection Tiber Flow.
The HKJC World Pool Vintage Stakes (2.25pm) is another heat where few horses can be ruled out.
Richard Hannon won this last season with Haatem and I like the chances of his entry AN OUTLAW’S GRACE, now stepping up in trip for the first time.
As is often the case in these races, I think the horses towards the head of the market have been over-bet, with The Parthenon, Cool Hoof Luke and Aomori City having good form but probably shorter than they should be.
That leads me to look further down the market, and I like the look of Clive Cox’s ARABIAN SUN, who created a good impression when winning at Salisbury in June.
Karl Burke’s two-year-olds are often underestimated when coming up against the bigger yards, so, at the foot of the market, TIGER MASK could be interesting after a good seven-furlong win at Ascot last time.
Those three are well worth sticking in a Quinella with the hope of a big payout.
POINTERS
An Outlaw’s Grace, Arabian Sun, Tiger Mask (Quinella/Swinger) 2.25pm Goodwood
Tiber Flow (Win and Place) 3.00pm Goodwood
Tiber Flow, English Oak, Noble Dynasty (Quinella/Swinger) 3.00pm Goodwood