Tuesday Goodwood 15:15 – Santiago
The best backed horse ante post at Glorious Goodwood is Cashel conjuror Aidan O’Brien’s charge Santiago in Tuesday’s Goodwood Cup at 15:15.
Staying sensation Stradivarius will obviously be very hard to beat, but punters seem to have decided that even he will struggle to give the Irish Derby hero over a stone, especially as the latter was staying on longer than Mike Tyson over just a couple of furlongs less in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot.
Stradivarius was imperious last time in the Gold Cup at the same Royal extravaganza, where he casually dismissed his seven rivals by 10 lengths.
Perhaps that easy victory suggests he’s getting better as he chases a fourth win in this long-distance event, but he only won by a wafer-thin margin last year even though Italian stallion Frankie Dettori was celebrating at the finish and his trainer John Gosden acknowledged at the weekend that this could be one of the toughest assignments of his illustrious career.
Tuesday Goodwood 14:15 – Youth Spirit
Plenty of two-year-old action at Goodwood and Youth Spirit is popular with Paddy Power punters in Tuesday’s Vintage Stakes.
The Camelot colt’s trainer Andrew Balding has been making hay with another of his juveniles, including the Queen’s Tactical, and this fellow appears to be highly progressive as well.
After being beaten on his debut in a good novice at Haydock, only going down by two lengths in fourth, he scored at the second time of asking by a length from Magical Land in a Newmarket maiden this month.
It’s hard to know exactly what to make of that form, but the second was an odds-on shot for Godolphin who had filled the same position when a furiously-backed favourite for his debut at Newmarket in June.
The dough would clearly indicate more is expected of Youth Spirit.
Tuesday Goodwood 14:45 – Sir Dancealot
Half an hour later Suffolk sorcerer David Elsworth’s Sir Dancealot has also been well supported by punters in the Lennox Stakes.
Like Stradivarius the well-named gelding (by Sir Prancealot out of Majesty’s Dancer) is a multiple winner at the Sussex shindig, having won this event for the last two seasons – including when a length too powerful for Hey Gaman in 2019.
He was last seen on track in the top-class July Cup at Newmarket earlier this month, when he didn’t have enough pace to challenge. But, the race would have acted as a lovely prep for this as he was only beaten just over four lengths by Oxted.
This 7 furlongs is absolutely ideal for Sir Dancealot with eight of his 10 career wins coming over this trip and it’s easy to see why he’s so well like.
Wednesday Goodwood 15:15 – Mohaather @ 11/4
The Late great Major Dick Hern used to stay on the coast at West Wittering for Glorious Goodwood and his former assistant Marcus Tregoning knows full well that ‘the Major’ used to consider it a disgrace not to have a winner at the Festival.
His Mohaather has been popular for Wednesday’s Sussex Stakes since finally doing what Tregoning always knew he was capable of, with an impressive victory last time in Ascot’s Group 2 Summer Mile earlier in July.
The Showcasing colt is in what is clearly one of the contests of the week with this year’s English and Irish Guineas winners and a Queen Anne Stakes hero in opposition.
Some of the support will have been because of Tregoning’s confidence, saying he wouldn’t be running if he didn’t think he could win, and this writer thinks he’s one of the best in the business at predicting a big run from one of his horses.
* Prices on our snazzy new bet widget are bang up to date.
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