3 minute read
A huge week of racing at Goodwood gets underway with a pair of Group Two contests and a valuable handicap for the stayers.
The Vintage Stakes is the second race on the opening day card and it looks an intriguing contest for the two-year-olds.
Success in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket’s July Meeting has Birchwood pitched in at the top of the market, and fair enough, that’s the best piece of form on offer, but at current prices Newmarket Maiden winner Ibn Malik makes a fair bit of appeal.
He ran a smart time winning that maiden and the second and third horses have since stepped out and won, confirming the performance as an above average one.
He might not have such a great leap to be giving this a big shake.
Click here for full form and ratings for Goodwood
Strong Challenge knocked off Gutaifan at Goodwood last time, form that at the time looked solid but has since been given a big push with the runner up going on to win a trio of races that culminated in the Group 2 Prix Robert Papin in France last weekend.
He has to be considered a winning hope.
Toormore won the Vintage in 2010 and he returned to tackle the Lennox Stakes last year, only to be gunned down as an odds-on favourite.
He won’t be odds-on in 2015 but he still heads betting for the race after a pair of solid efforts in Group 1 company this season so far.
Any cut in the ground won’t be an issue, and the drop back from a mile shouldn’t concern him either, but the query is the 467 days and 7 runs since his last win and the presence of a promising horse in Dutch Connection.
Dutch Connection won the Jersey at the Royal Meeting in the style of a smart one and he backed that up with a terrific effort in a fast Prix Jean Prat in France last time.
That’s a familiar pattern for this race. Strong Suit came off the same win and placing to run out a most impressive Lennox winner in 2011.
Racing And Sports Ratings have Dutch Connection rated two kilos better going into the Lennox than Strong Suit and the race looks no stronger than it did that year.
The big handicap of the day is the Summer Stakes over 2816m and good prizemoney this year ensures a deep field with betting at 6-1 the field showing as much.
Astronereus is on an upward spiral after winning at York last time and looks a strong chance of further success from the top of the handicap.
There was little between Astronereus and Ajman Bridge at Royal Ascot and there might not be much to split them around Goodwood either but the one that is seen as most likely to knock off Astronereus is Battersea.
Notorised won the Old Newton Cup at Haydock with Farquar in third and while Battesea could only manage eighth there he is seen as the one to take from the race.
He was first up and did travel okay until tiring at the pointy end of the race. He started much shorter in betting that day and hence brings a strong SP profile with him today. Combine that with the fact that he will be fitter for his first time out and he looks a good play at the current odds.
