Glorious Goodwood provides five days of top class flat racing at one of the UK’s most impressive racecourses and the 2016 meeting is no different. With the weather expected to be dry and warm in the lead up to this year’s festival of racing, the ground should be on the fast side which will suit those horses who have been longing for Good ground all season. Here are the best bets for this year’s meeting.
Tuesday – Lennox Stakes (Group 2)
Godolphin won this contest 12 months ago with Toormore and the boys in blue could have further success in the third race on the opening day of the meeting with Home of the Brave who can be backed at 5/1 with Betway. Trained by Hugo Palmer, this four-year old has had the perfect season so far with two wins from his two starts. He started his campaign in a Listed race at Leicester back in April where he scored by just over two lengths, while more recently he was the winner of the Group Three Jury Stakes at Haydock. He remains at his optimum trip of seven furlongs for this race and the better ground at Goodwood will play in the in-form horse’s favour. The danger will obviously be Ribchester but he has yet to score on Good or Firm going.
Bet: Home of the Brave 5/1
Wednesday – Sussex Stakes (Group 1)
Galileo Gold has been the star miler from the three-year old division this season with success coming in the opening Classic of the year, the 2000 Guineas, while he also followed that up with his win in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Hugo Palmer’s runner will once again take on the French Guineas winner The Gurkha at Goodwood but it is hard to make a case for that form being reversed on the downs. The one blip Galileo Gold has on his form card this season is his second place finish in the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh. The ground on that occasion was yielding and the complete opposite to what suits the horse. There will be no such concerns at Goodwood, therefore he is the one they all have to beat in the three-year old contest.
Bet: Galileo Gold 7/4
Saturday – Nassau Stakes (Group 1)
Aidan O’Brien’s Minding will go off as the hot favourite for the Group One Nassau Stakes, however, it could be worth siding with her stablemate Alice Springs to upset the odds at Goodwood. As we saw recently in the Irish Oaks where Ballydoyle’s Seventh Heaven beat Even Song to claim the Classic at the Curragh, it is not always the O’Brien favourite which claims the spoils.
Alice Springs
showed her class when she won the Group
One Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket recently in
impressive style. She finished that race strongly coming home ahead
of Very Special by over two lengths. Usherette was a long was
back in sixth as she proved the big disappointed in the 1m contest
for fillies.
Bet: Alice
Springs