Tuesday’s best bets, by Greg Wood
A fascinating race for the Group Two Lennox Stakes is the feature event on the opening day of Glorious Goodwood, where Home Of The Brave (3.10) is a very fair price at around 11-4 to beat Dutch Connection, the runner-up in the race last year.
Hugo Palmer’s four-year-old has several important positives to recommend him going into today’s race, perhaps the most significant being that he looks like a textbook seven-furlong specialist. He finished sixth in last year’s Commonwealth Cup over six furlongs, led until a furlong out in the 2,000 Guineas earlier the same year and has been first across the line in three of his last four races, all over seven.
Home Of The Brave is also a front-runner, which can be a rewarding tactic at Goodwood, prefers good ground and has shown further progress in two wins so far this season. Dutch Connection is the big danger, but at the prices, Palmer’s runner is an easy pick.
Boynton (2.35) has not been done any favours by the draw but still looks like the value in the race to confirm recent Newmarket form with War Decree, while Balmoral Castle (2.00) could be worth a small each-way interest in the opening handicap. He has not been out since an impressive success in an apprentice race at Ascot in the spring, but has won four of his six starts at Goodwood and could find the race is run to suit as there looks to be plenty of pace in the field.
Maljaa (4.20) has fared better in the draw than most of the market leaders, while A Soldier’s Life (3.45), who remains lightly raced at the age of five, could improve on his fifth-place finish in the Duke Of Edinburgh at Royal Ascot, which was his first start of the season.
Betfair Glorious Goodwood tipping competition — starts today
We have two £50 bets as prizes this week, generously offered by Betfair, and, as has become our custom for Glorious Goodwood, we’ll be offering two prizes: one for the tipster that does best and one for the tipster that does worst. It’s a way of recognising what a tricky week this is for punters and how things can go badly wrong for any of us.
You don’t have to declare which prize you’re trying to win. If you try to pick winners today but come up with four losers, you’ll have to decide whether you want to keep pursuing the best tipster prize or if it might be better to go all out for losers from that point. Remember: just one winner disqualifies you from the worst tipster prize.
Because of the nature of this competition, we’ll return to having a full scoreboard for one week only, starting tomorrow.
To kick things off, we’d like your selections, please, for these races: 3.10 Goodwood, 3.45 Goodwood, 4.20 Goodwood, 5.30 Goodwood.
Prize 1: Best Tipster
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be four each day up until and including Friday. Non-runners count as losers.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day.
For terms and conditions click here.
Prize 2: Worst Tipster
As an additional prize for those at the other end of the leaderboard, we’re offering a one-off prize to whoever does worst this week. Our winner will be the one who finishes on -16 having picked horses at a shorter average starting price than all others who finished on -16.
To qualify for this prize, you must select a runner in each of our competition races. If one of your selections becomes a non-runner, you must replace it before the race starts or you will be eliminated. You will also be eliminated if any of your selections should happen to win.
If, at the end of the competition, two or more people on -16 are tied for the lowest average SP, the winner will be whichever of them posted their Friday tips earliest.
Otherwise, the usual terms and conditions apply.
Good luck! (or bad luck, as appropriate)
And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
