The pick of the prices on Day 5 at Glorious Goodwood....

Friday, 4th August 2023

The pick of the prices on Day 5 at Glorious Goodwood….

Today is Day 4 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 Stewards’ Sprint Handicap at 1.50 – where 14 go to post over the 6f trip….

…. the Summer Handicap at 2.25 – over the 14f trip….

…. and the Stewards’ Cup at 3.35 – boasting a bumper field of 28 that will battle it out up the 6f straight….

The track has dried out a little overnight with the going this morning reported as soft (good to soft in places)

…. but there’s plenty of rain forecast over West Sussex tomorrow morning and I’d expect underfoot conditions to ease once again….

There’s plenty to get through. Let’s get down to it….

• In the Stewards’ Sprint Handicap – 1.50….

Richard Fahey’s MONSIEUR KODI is the one for me in this – at the general 7/1….

He’s been running consistently all this term – producing two wins and four additional creditable efforts from his six goes….

He was put up just 3lbs for the last of those wins at Thirsk in June….

…. but tomorrow’s mark of 83 is a career-high perch and there’s a suspicion that the handicapper might just have the horse in his grasp….

That said the last twice he’s performed with credit in better races at Ayr and at York off that mark – earning money in both….

…. and he’s one of few horses in tomorrow’s race that you could say with confidence will be okay and give his running on the ground…. 

He’s in good form, he looks likely to be competitive, conditions suit and he’s a decent enough bet….

• In the Summer Handicap – 2.25….

MR CURIOSITY is a decent price at the 16s….

He ran a nice trial for this at Ripon – a similar undulating right-handed-track – just a fortnight back….

…. beating a decent yardstick in Chillingham….

That was over 12f and this big horse – sired by Frankel – looks every inch the type that will improve again for the additional quarter mile tomorrow….

He’ll have no problem on the ground and he’s up just 3lb for that Ripon win to 92…. 

He’s a ‘live’ player tomorrow – and he can certainly outrun his price…. 

…. with principal yard jockey David Allan taking the ride for the first time since last term’s principal assignment in the November Cup….

• In the Stewards’ Cup – 3.35….

Backing a top weight in a handicap on taxing ground might seem counter-intuitive….

…. but backing the class horse – whatever the circumstances – is no bad strategy and KING’S LYNN can go deep tomorrow at the 14s….

Andrew Balding’s having a good week….

…. this horse has been going well in big handicaps all summer…

…. and he’ll handle the likely underfoot conditions better than most tomorrow….

…. which might just be advantage enough to land the prize….

He will certainly go close and he’d be my nap selection for those of you who like to back just the one horse each way….

My preference is to be two-against-the-field in this one – and the other one I like is Kevin Ryan’s ALEEZDANCER at the 16s….

Last time out he missed the start at Pontefract and finished stone last in first-time blinkers….

The positive aspect of that is that he’s back down to 94 – just a pound above the rating he won a big-field handicap off on soft ground at Doncaster in May….

His long-term target would likely be the Ayr Gold Cup – where he’d be likely to get the soft ground he relishes….

…. but the wet midsummer has opened doors and now he’s a real player here tomorrow – at least in my book….

The blinkers are replaced by the cheekpieces and – assuming he gets out of the stalls on time – he’s a big player tomorrow under Neil Callan….

That’s all for today….

Back next week….

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

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

Stay tuned.

Against the Crowd