Hi all,
Yesterday I recapped the final day of Glorious Goodwood. Today I’m focusing on key performances from the first four days — plus there's a Goodwood eyecatcher I’ve backed ante post for the Ebor Handicap.
Goodwood Tuesday Recap
Zavateri confirmed his status as the best British-trained juvenile so far this season when backing up his July Stakes win with a gutsy success in the Group 2 Vintage Stakes. Under a 3lb penalty, he showed both class and toughness to fend off Morris Dancer late on. The extra furlong to 7f clearly suited, and while he’ll face better-bred rivals in Group 1s later in the year, it’s hard to knock what he’s done. Given the yard and his style, he’s likely to be underestimated again by the market.
Scandinavia took full advantage of the 3-year-old weight allowance when edging out stablemate Illinois in the Group 1 Goodwood Cup. He needed every yard of the two miles, and while some will question the form with the weight concession, this was a proper staying performance. He’s now a short-priced favourite for the St Leger and given the lack of standout opposition — aside from perhaps Lambourn, who may not run — it’s hard to argue he doesn’t deserve that status. Yes, he’s all stamina, but that might just be enough this year.
Goodwood Eyecatcher
Shadow Dance (Roger Varian)
This was the eyecatching run of the week for me. Shadow Dance, off the track for 319 days, returned in the Chesterfield Cup Handicap (1m 2f) — a trip short of his best and shaped like a horse being brought along with something in mind. Held up, he was making good late progress when denied a run inside the final furlong. Importantly, he wasn’t given a hard race. He’s still relatively unexposed for a 5-year-old (just 10 starts) and was a winner at York’s Ebor Festival last year over 1m 4f.
That’s where I think he’s heading again — and I’ve backed him at 20/1 for the Ebor Handicap. He only needs three to come out to make the final field. If he lines up, he won’t be anything like 20s available now with Bet365 and Ladbrokes.
Goodwood Wednesday Recap: Lady Iman Shines
I covered Qirat’s stunning 150/1 Sussex Stakes win in last Thursday’s column, so no need to go over that in detail again. In short: Richard Kingscote stole it from the front. He dictated a dawdle, and the others let him. Still, something didn’t look right with hot favourite Field Of Gold. Whether it was a flat run or a flat ride, he was never going to land a blow.
Elsewhere on the card, Lady Iman gave trainer Ger Lyons a long-overdue British Group success in the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes. Carrying a penalty, she simply had too much early speed for the field over 5f. The cut back to the minimum trip clearly unlocked her best. Her connections are eyeing the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint, but I’d be supplementing her for the Nunthorpe Stakes at York. She’s around 4/1 and with the current weakness in the older sprint division, she must have a serious chance. There won’t be a better year for a juvenile to strike in that Group 1 contest.
At this rate we’ll have a maximum field for the Nunthorpe and it will look more like one of those York sprint handicaps.
Goodwood Thursday Recap: Storms, Flag Starts, and Whirl Dominates
Thursday’s action was overshadowed by the weather. Over 35mm of rain hit the track in a matter of hours. The Group 1 Nassau Stakes was run via a flag start the first for a Group 1 in Britain since starting stalls were introduced. It wasn’t ideal, but Goodwood had little choice other than delaying the card or calling it off altogether.
Despite all the disruption, Whirl delivered. Ryan Moore got her out fast and controlled the race throughout. She handled the testing ground far better than her key rivals and added a second Group 1 to her CV after her Pretty Polly Stakes success.
See The Fire fluffed the start and was always playing catch-up. She travelled well into the race but failed to pick up on the rain softened ground. Oisin Murphy gave her an easy ride late on with future races in mind. She needs quicker ground to show her true ability. The Juddmonte International back at York a track she goes well at will see her in a much better light.
Cercene ran with credit, seemingly staying the trip and holding off See The Fire, but never looked like catching the winner. The Matron Stakes at Leopardstown (1m) on quicker ground next month will suit her far better.
Whirl’s stablemate Bedtime Story hated the ground. You can draw a line through this. Back on a sounder surface, she will bounce back.
Earlier on the card, Merchant showed real grit to win the Group 3 Gordon Stakes, grinding out victory despite clearly disliking the ground. He looked all heart in the finish. He remains a colt to keep on side back on a sounder surface.
Goodwood Eyecatcher
I backed Knights Gold in the handicap and didn’t realise how unlucky he was until watching the replay. Denied a run multiple times in the final 2f, he still got within ¾ of a length of the winner. With a clear passage, he wins. The Racing Post quite rightly flagged him as an eyecatcher.
Source: Racing Post.
Goodwood Friday Recap
There may have been no Group 1 on Friday’s card, but the Group 2 King George Qatar Stakes (5f) brought together a strong field on paper and produced a worthy winner in Jm Jungle.
The Epsom Dash winner took the step up to Group company in his stride, using his pace to good effect from the far side before pulling out enough to repel late runs from She’s Quality and Time For Sandals. It was a smart performance — and one that has booked his place in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York. He’s got solid course form at the Knavesmire too, finishing out of the frame just once in nine runs there.
She’s Quality recorded her fourth straight second-place finish but lost little in defeat. We know she doesn’t need to lead now, handles soft ground, and remains a big threat back on quicker going. She’ll head to York as a legitimate Nunthorpe contender.
Time For Sandals, the Commonwealth Cup winner at Royal Ascot, ran another solid race in third. She was beaten just ¾ of a length, but this looked sharp enough for her — a return to 6f now seems likely. The Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock could be next.
As for the Aussie raider Asfoora, she again failed to match her peak 2024 form, finishing 7th, beaten 2¼ lengths. That said, the Nunthorpe has always been her aim this year, and she ran a close fourth in last year’s race. With this run under her belt, a bounce-back at York wouldn’t shock.
Goodwood Eyecatchers – Saturday
Montpellier (James Ferguson)
Drawn out wide, Montpellier was dropped in early but finished strongly to grab fourth, beaten just over a length by the useful Mudbir. This was a promising effort from an improving 3-year-old, and on this evidence, a mile should be well within range. He’s one to keep on side in similar handicaps.
Primo Lara (Jack Morland)
Making his first start since being bought for 65,000gns out of Jane Chapple-Hyam’s yard, Primo Lara shaped well in sixth behind Gladius in the closing 1m1f handicap. He was beaten six lengths but made steady late ground from off the pace and looked more like the horse who won well at Chelmsford and York last spring. If this signals a revival, he’s nicely handicapped and should be competitive in races over 1m 2f kept to 0-90 company.
Final Goodwood Takeaway – Stewards’ Cup Draw Bias
Back to Saturday’s Stewards’ Cup — and the draw. In the build-up, the consensus leaned towards a low draw being favoured. Yet when the numbers were drawn, most trainers opted high. As it turns out, they were spot on.
Digging into the Horseracebase highlights just how poor the low-drawn record is:
Since 2018, horses drawn in the first two quarters of the draw have produced 1 winner from 108 runners, 11 places (Expected Wins: 5.73).
The sole success? Khaadem from stall 3 in 2019.
Age is another factor:
Horses aged 7 or older are 0 from 45 in the same period, with just 6 places.
In short, avoid low draws and older horses in next year’s Stewards’ Cup. That trend won’t last forever, but it’s held firm for eight years now. Something to keep in mind for next year’s race.
Qatar Goodwood Festival 2025 Verdict:
Despite a good week on the punting front for my subscribers. I thought this year’s Qatar Goodwood Festival made for a poor watch.
False ground, and too many horses unable to get traction on the loose ground. The surface just didn’t hold up. For a Flat summer festival, the surface was awful and not fit for purpose. Not that the cheerleaders in the racing media will cover the subject.
I don’t know how much water has been put on the track this spring and summer, but last week’s surface is what you end up with.
Aside from Whirl’s Nassau Stakes win, Scandinavia landing the Goodwood Cup and Zavateri’s Vintage Stakes success there really wasn’t much to savour quality wise.
It’s the Shergar Cup on Saturday so no big race to preview on Wednesday. That means I won’t be doing a Wednesday column this week. I'll be back on Thursday.
Good luck with your Tuesday bets.
John