Equinties - Glorious Goodwood day 1

Gm Equinauts

With Royal Ascot done and dusted, the form books of all the fastest horses in the country offer a little bit more to the punter to work out meaning this is a HUGE week in the flat calendar.

Let’s dive in.

BGP FANTASY LEAGUE COMP

We’ve been hyping up the TOTE’s new Fantasy game since we found it. Why? Simply because there is nothing else out there now which can help people cage the betting chimp while maintaining an emotional interest in the big races of the day.

People bet way too much and the Fantasy allows you to get limited risk on, fill your brain up with the dope it craves and still be in the mix for a big win.

If we hit 300 stables today, top of the BGP private league comes golfing with BGP Capital.

HEADLINE ROUND UP

Win for the jumps fans

As reported by Sky Sports Racing yesterday, jump racing will return to Windsor in 2024, with the course set to have its first fixture on December 15^th, 2024.

Having stopped national hunt racing as a regular fixture in 1998 – bar a small return for the 2004/05 season while Ascot was being refurbished – Arc has announced that a “small number of fixtures” will take place on a slightly different track to the Flat course.

A trainer who loves Windsor is Nicky Henderson and he has proposed that Lingfield’s Winter Million Festival, which was plagued by waterlogging last year, could be switched to the Royal track instead.

More: https://www.racingpost.com/news/britain/jump-racing-to-return-to-windsor-for-2024-25-season-a3Yh24T2OM5F/ 

Whip amendments

After a six-month review of the new whip rules, the BHA is set to change the penalty structure handed out to jockeys.

Thank. The. Lord.

BIG RACE PREVIEWS

15.25 GROUP 2 VINTAGE STAKES

GOLDEN MIND is a half brother to Champion Sprinter PERFECT POWER. The trip looks perfect for him, he has a bit more stamina than his brother. Form looks good from Ascot. He is the one to beat.

HAATEM by first season sire PHOENIX OF SPAIN, he’s been a credit to connections running creditably on all his starts to date but is starting to look near his ceiling albeit a good one, and may find another too good again today.

IBERIAN has only had the one start so this will be a big step up but he travelled very strongly and quickened smartly on debut. By LOPE DE VEGA and comes from a very good distaff line. If he improves on his debut he’s a very interesting competitor.

MOUNTAIN BEAR by NO NAY NEVER and bred by Anne Marie O’Brien. He was 7th in the July Stakes but not beaten far at all, about a length of being third. The re-opposing THUNDER BLUE was 4th.

THUNDER BLUE was 4th on his last start at Newmarket. He’s looked solid but needs to step up today to trouble the judge, he and MOUNTAIN BEAR fall in to the same category.

SOLDIER’S GOLD by first season sire SOLDIERS CALL and has looked very progressive but his draw could well be against him. We have him top on current ratings.

WITNESS STAND by EXPERT EYE who enjoyed a Royal Ascot winning 2yo. Dam is a full sister to Gr1 winning sprinter PROHIBIT. Needs a big step up today from his debut, unlikely to take such a leap forward.

SPANISH PHOENIX the second in the line up by PHOENIX OF SPAIN, two times now he has been beaten by HAATEM and that is simply not good enough for this contest today. He needs a miracle.

SON looks to be giving his owners tickets for the day and a fun day out. Needs a big step forward but they like him and has place claims.

Verdict: GOLDEN MIND has been supported and for good reason. Tough heat this year, there isn’t a stand out but this lad should be up there after his good run at Royal Ascot. Same for SOLDIER’S GOLD who is still progressing. IBERIAN’s dam’s sister produced Classic winner JUST THE JUDGE, also trained by Charlie Hills so he knows the family. A 200,000gns yearling, he’s a sexy beast and Hill’s is purring. IBERIAN is the ew play.

16.00 GROUP 2 LENNOX STAKES

Won last year by SANDRINE, seven will go to post for the Group 2 Lennox Stakes and the market is topped by last year’s runner-up KINROSS at 6/5 for in-form Ralph Beckett and Frankie Dettori.

The 2021 winner will get his soft ground that he performed very well on in the past and following a good run in the July Cup behind SHAQUILLE is the one to beat.

3yo ISAAC SHELBY has been backed in the market. He is stepping back to 7 furlongs for the first time since his Greenham win three starts ago.

Running alongside the riderless CHALDEAN, he fairly bolted up that day and has since finished second to MARHABA YA SANAFI, the horse who got within six lengths of ACE IMPACT, before a good fourth in the St James’s Palace Stakes behind PADDINGTON, a future Coral-Eclipse winner.

That reads like very good form and he receives six pounds from his elders.

A fellow three-year-old at much bigger odds is MARBAAN who actually won on this day last year when successful in the Vintage Stakes at 14/1.

He has failed to lay much of a glove since then, bar a close second to RUN FOR FREEDOM at Salisbury two starts ago, so today looks like a tough task for him but Fellowes is finally coming into form.

A progressive type that could go under the radar is AUDIENCE for the Gosdens and Rab Havlin.

He was a very impressive winner of the Criterion Stakes on his first start of the season and should have similar conditions to deal with today, however, he does have a tendency to drift left, something that wouldn’t suit Goodwood.

Verdict: Even without his weight for age allowance, ISAAC SHELBY would be in the mix, so he’d be the play in this small but strong field.

16.35 GROUP 1 GOODWOOD CUP

Oh boy, here we go. Everyone knows what’s up. For us, this is the race of the week. The best two BGP grad’s we’ve had -COLTRANE and DAVE (or OCEAN WIND as the BHA, the RP and even the commentator like to call him… weird)

finally meeting.

For the the last two years Dave has had to sit on the sidelines and watch COLTRANE rise through the ranks to become one of the best stayers in the world.

Starting life as a big, backwards 2yo, COLTRANE has gotten better with age, leaving behind his mark of 80 when winning his Chepstow maiden he now regularly competes in the best Group races on offer at the dizzy mark of 117.

He got chinned at Royal Ascot by todays market fave COURAGE MON AMI to deny him his first Group 1 but is back for revenge today.

Let’s talk about Dave.

He’s back… something we honestly thought we wouldn’t see again. His journey back to track has been slow and painful for both his mind and body.

He was too unfit lto at Sandown to prove to connections he’s ‘back’ back (he didn’t clear for a long time and JC said he’d come on masses for the blow) but one things for sure, his heart is still as strong as ever. You won’t find another horse like him who just wants to win. If this race was a couple years ago, he’d be the one but right now it’s just fingers crossed for another safe run.

The fave COURAGE MON AMI is the obviously the horse to beat having beaten COLTRANE fair and square but he would have loved that rattling ground at Ascot and might be vulnerable today with the bit of cut. He’s out of a US bred dam which puts a big ? over the cut in this ground.

The other’s can’t win in our view.

Verdict: We wish it had rained a bit more to really dampen the fave’s chances but we think COLTRANE can still turn the tables today. Balding is in much better form now and there’s a chance COLTRANE could have bounced after his seasonal debut where he bolted up on the bridle. He’s in top order at home and looks a picture. This might be heart over head here, but he’s our pick. Balding for a good day with ARRAY to win too.

STATS OF THE DAY

13.40 LORD RIDDIFORD is going for the hat trick in the race.

Frankel’s pilot and Moore are 3 from 3 this year at Goodwood and team up on NOVUS in the 17.05

RISK ON

Singles on:

14.15 ARRAY

Every man and his dog on this one and we’re following. Full bet at evens.

14.50 MILLEBOSC

Yard on this, competitive though. Half bet to follow them at 7/2.

15.25 IBERIAN

Hills loves this one. Full bet ew at 7/1.

16.00 ISAAC SHELBY 

KINROSS might be hard to beat but this lad is capable. Half bet at 5/2.

16.35 COLTRANE

Would have liked more rain but good to soft might be enough to turn the form around. Full bet ew at 4s.