The pick of the prices on Day 3 at Glorious Goodwood....

Wednesday, 2nd August 2023

The pick of the prices on Day 3 at Glorious Goodwood….

Today is Day 2 at the Glorious Goodwood meeting….

If you missed my selections for this afternoon’s handicap targets – you’ll find them here….

Today I’m focused on tomorrow’s target handicaps….

The Coral Kincsem Handicap at 1.50 – a 10f contest for the 3yo horses with a field of 18 heading to post….

…. and the Buccellati Handicap at 4.45 – where 20 go to post over the 8f trip….

Conditions have eased – with the going now reported as soft (good to soft in places) and with more rain forecast to fall….

Let’s crack on with it….

• In the Kincsem – 1.50….

The Johnston outfit have won this race eight times – whilst the Gosden operation has won it four….

Charlie Johnston runs three tomorrow – and you probably couldn’t write any of them off. Whilst the Gosden yard runs two….

This time around I’m siding with the latter team and backing OBELIX at the general 11s under Kieran Shoemark….

He travelled into it beautifully at Newmarket last time under Jamie Spencer and looked like the winner deep into proceedings….

…. but he just didn’t find enough at the death and got outstayed and beaten less than a length by Killybegs Warrior – a Charlie Johnston horse who reopposes tomorrow on 2lb worse terms….

Maybe the Gosden horse was given just a tad too much to do in the closing stages by Spencer….

…. and that’s not a criticism of his come-late style. It’s just an observation that he was out at the rear in the early and mid-parts of the race whilst the winner – who got started on winding up his finishing effort earlier – was further forward….

Maybe a slight tweak of the tactics – and the 2lb better terms – will be sufficient to turn that form around….

The ground was reported good to firm that day at Newmarket – but I’m pretty  sure it was softer than that….

…. and the easier conditions might account for Obelix’s step forward from a poor run on good to firm at the Royal meeting….

Whatever – I think he’ll appreciate the softer ground he encounters tomorrow….

I’m also mindful that there are a lot of horses in tomorrow’s race that like to be up at the front end of the pace….

…. and early sectionals that are too frantic might just play into Kieran Shoemark’s hands late on….

• In the Buccellati – 4.45….

Gary Moore had an excellent July – producing 10 winners and 25 points of betting profit for punters – from 40 runners….

…. and the ground has certainly come right for NOVUS – who can be backed at the general 8s for this contest tomorrow….

She ran a good race over a mile in the Sandringham at the Royal meeting on the quickest ground she’s ever encountered….

…. before getting a little outpaced over 7f at Sandown last time and finding just one too good….

I thought she was unlucky. She got rolling a little too late but – once she did pick up for Ryan Moore – she made up ground in eye-taking fashion and I think she was a little unlucky not to win….

…. she would certainly have got closer than a length to the winner – had she not met a little interference deep inside the final furlong which seemed to me to disrupt her concentration at a crucial point….

She’s already shown she handles the track at Goodwood – winning over course and distance in May – experience that will surely stand her in good stead. She’s two from two on soft ground and she’s bagged an inside stall….

I also want to back METAL MERCHANT at the 12s – simply because Ryan Moore has taken the first-time ride on Jack Channon’s horse….

…. in preference (you’d think he had a chance of retaining the ride) to riding Novus again for his father – who last week described the filly as his best chance of the week….

Ryan Moore obviously feels Metal Merchant has major claims too….

Like Novus he has form on soft ground and he produced an eye-taking performance of his own at Ascot last time – finishing strongly from the back of the field and looking like there’s more to come from his mark of 89….

That’s all for today….

I’ll be back tomorrow with my take on the handicap action on day 4 at Glorious Goodwood….

Meantime – contact me direct at – nick.pullen@oxonpress.co.uk  

And remember – win, lose, or draw – enjoy the racing….

Stay tuned.

Against the Crowd