One of these days I may have to give up on the conviction that Discussiontofollow (3.45) has the talent to land a major sprint handicap but I am not there yet. He ran a fine race in last year’s Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood and might have been placed if the winner had not hung across him in the final furlong. As it was, he finished only half a length behind Muthmir at level weights.
For this year’s renewal he is 2lb higher in the weights but not in quite the same form as he was 12 months ago. Well fancied for his reappearance, he pulled too hard behind a steady pace. Stepped back to five furlongs for two runs since then, he has given the impression that that distance is on the sharp side for him these days.
A strongly run six furlongs on a drying surface here could now be close to his ideal conditions and I have every hope that Discussiontofollow will travel strongly into contention, as has been his habit. As a hold-up horse, he will need some luck and it is of marginal concern that his jockey, Shane Kelly, is on a losing run. But odds of 14-1 look on the big side.
Huntsmans Close has been in good form but this is a lot hotter than the races he has been in so far this year and he is now a stone higher than when landing the Ayr Silver Cup. Poyle Vinnie is back on song but the going here may be on the fast side for him.
Magical Memory may give Frankie Dettori a good spin but, at 13-2, the three-year-old is rather shorter than he is entitled to be. The each-way option at 33-1 could be Algar Lad, from the impressive David O’Meara stable and a taking winner at York in May. He was a shade unlucky back there last time.
2.00 Goodwood Mick Channon is building up a bit of momentum with 10 winners this month and his Shore Step may be ready for a career best. He is only 3lb higher than for his latest win, at the St Leger meeting last year, and returned to form when second of 20 at York last time despite a slipping saddle. That was Silvestre De Sousa’s first ride on him and it must be hoped the champion in waiting suffers no tack malfunctions this time.
2.15 Newmarket A well-bred and lightly raced three-year-old, Endless Time was last seen at Goodwood in May, giving weight and a beating to Simple Verse, a Group Three winner at the same track this week. While Endless Time had the run of the race that day, the track did not seem to suit her and she has the scope to do better after this short break and returned to a more conventional course.
2.35 Goodwood Oh, how I wanted to pick Dartmouth, who looked most progressive when scoring at Ascot recently. But he is a hold-up horse at a course where such tactics can easily lead to trouble, as so many runners have found out this week. While Olivier Peslier is indisputably an excellent jockey, he has no recent wins at Goodwood and not much experience here. Senrima, on the other hand, is a certain stayer who will probably race near the front from the outset, with Richard Hughes aboard to maximise his chance. He looks unexposed after winning his only handicap against three rivals.
2.50 Newmarket With Hugo Palmer’s yard going so well Ediye can build on her maiden success at Lingfield, when she took a huge step forward on her debut effort and won despite still being green.
3.10 Goodwood Legatissimo looked a good winner of the 1,000 Guineas but she is in danger of being spoken of rather lightly after two very narrow defeats. The mile and a half of the Oaks was too far for her and she finished fast but too late in the Pretty Polly after not quite getting a clear run. Diamondsandrubies, the winner of that race, may again be hard to reel in, as racing near the pace has seemed a good idea for most of this week. But Legatissimo is back on a fast surface for the first time since the Guineas and this is a good chance for her to prove her class. At 16-1, Jazzi Top has unexposed potential. She was held up to conserve her stamina in the Oaks and never got into the argument.
