It was a roasting afternoon in Sussex on Thursday and with even higher temperatures forecast for the final two days of this year’s Glorious Goodwood, Ed Arkell bowed to the inevitable on Thursday evening and turned on the taps.
Arkell planned to put on 8mm of water on the top and bottom bends and on the round course from the bottom bend to the 10-furlong start, but even that will do little more than replace what is being lost through natural evaporation and transpiration.
The official going overnight was good-to-firm, good in places, but any remaining patches of good ground are likely to be few and far between by the time racing gets underway at 1.50pm.
The most prestigious race on today’s card is the Group Two King George Stakes, but from a betting point of view, the main target of the day is the annual attempt to find the winner of the big one-mile handicap, which has regained its original title of the Golden Mile under its latest sponsor, Unibet.
This punter is old enough to remember the original Golden Mile, sponsored by Schweppes and launched in 1987, when it went to the excellent Waajib, a subsequent winner of the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot. It is good to see the original name revived after a series of sponsorships when a bookmaker’s name was all that mattered, but the fact that so many betting firms have vied to support it since Schweppes bailed out tells a story in itself.
A big field, a sharp turning mile and a right-hand bend after two furlongs all combine to guarantee that in an average renewal, two or three runners at least end up in the classic Goodwood pocket: trapped on the far rail with nowhere to go. At the same time, 10 of the last 14 winners have set off at a single-figure price, thanks in part to a draw bias towards the low-numbered stalls that helps to narrow things down.
The low numbers are likely to hold sway again this year as Escobar (3.00) and Seniority, already two of the most interesting runners from a handicapping point of view, have ended up in two and three respectively.
Seniority, in the Queen’s colours, has Ryan Moore in his saddle and would be a popular winner after his owner was forced to retire Call To Mind following an injury in the Goodwood Cup on Tuesday. Escobar, though, looked like he was well ahead of his mark when mid-division in the Royal Hunt Cup and should be ideally suited by Goodwood’s sharper mile.
Bangor 1.30 Northern Beau 2.00 Mr Caffrey 2.35 Premier King 3.10 Passing Call 3.45 My Renaissance 4.20 Thahab Ifraj
4.50 Outrageous Romana
Thirsk 1.40 Isvestia 2.10 World Order 2.45 Boudica Bay 3.20 Elysee Star 3.55 Raydiance 4.30 Fairy Falcon 5.00 Pentland Hills 5.35 Letmestopyouthere
Goodwood 1.50 Mirage Dancer 2.25 Threading (nb) 3.00 Escobar (nap) 3.35 Battaash 4.10 Leading Spirit 4.40 Pretty Baby 5.15 Groveman
Newmarket 5.20 Lalania 5.50 Point In Time 6.25 Garrus 7.00 Royal Reserve 7.30 Trulee Scrumptious 8.00 Rawdaa 8.30 Bernardo O’Reilly
Wolverhampton 5.30 Capla Demon 6.00 Island Of Life 6.35 Molly Mai 7.10 Grey Spirit 7.40 Galileo’s Spear 8.10 Dolcissimo
Musselburgh 5.40 The Resdev Way 6.10 Caballero 6.45 Bibbidibobbidiboo 7.20 Lomu 7.50 Diamonique 8.20 Military Madame 8.50 Dundunah
Tips by Greg Wood
Eminent was fourth home in last season’s Derby but his form has flattened out since a Group Two win in Germany last August. A return to his 2017 peak would give him every chance, but Mirage Dancer (1.50) looks more like a horse on the upgrade and does not need to find much to record a first Group race success. His winning form at this track in May is also encouraging.
Threading (2.25) has come up short at Group One level on her last two starts, including a below-par run at Newmarket last time, but she has yet to win there in three attempts. She has a victory on her record at Goodwood, though, and has a big chance to return to winning form dropping back in class here.
In the King George Stakes Battaash (3.35), successful in the same race 12 months ago, has a Group One penalty to shoulder after his win in the Prix de l’Abbaye on Arc day in October. The penalty is a slight concern, but he put up a huge performance to out-speed Lady Aurelia in the King’s Stand Stakes before Blue Point picked up the pieces in the final furlong. He is quite possibly the best five-furlong sprinter in Europe, and should underline the point this afternoon.
