1.50 Goodwood – Goodwood Odyssey (Each Way)
Surely this has been the plan for Goodwood Odyssey, as his trainer David Menuisier likes to execute a plot. The last time we saw the three-year-old colt, he ran a good race at Newmarket to finish third. However, as he entered the final furlong, he appeared to get a bit lonely out in front and seemed to lose a bit of concentration. That’s why connections appear to have reached for the first-time blinkers. Hopefully they’ll help him focus.
If you go back through some of his form earlier in the season, he was sent off as the favourite for the London Gold Cup at Newbury, which has a habit of throwing up Group horses, although he could only finish seventh. On the other hand, you forgive him that run, and the form has come up trumps. I think he has more improvement to come over this trip, and I can see him being there or thereabouts.
2.25 Goodwood – Breege (Each Way)
I thought Breege had a good chance of going close in this race. She’s a filly I’ve got a lot of time for, as she did us a favour when she won a Group 3 at Epsom on Derby day. She’ll have to carry a 3lb penalty for that success, but that shouldn’t be a problem. I think the key to her is 7f, and coming back to track like Goodwood will help. Though she’s never won here, she’s been able to finish in the top three in all three of her visits to the Sussex track, so she clearly handles the track. The daughter of Starspangledbanner is also very versatile groundwise, so that’s not something to worry about. With her consistent record, she’s one of my bets of the day.
3.00 Goodwood – Soldier’s Heart (Each Way)
Soldier’s Heart was very impressive when scoring over this course and distance last month, and he certainly wasn’t stopping at the line. Before that he had shaped encouragingly on his racecourse debut at Lingfield, where he bumped into Al Qudra, who subsequently went on to win a Listed race at Ascot last weekend. Furthermore this race is in his pedigree as his sire Havana Grey won it in 2017. With a nice draw towards the stands side rail in Stall 13, he goes there a live chance.
3.35 Goodwood – Henry Longfellow (Win)
This race has more of an open feel to it after the red hot favourite Rosallion was declared a non-runner on Wednesday. However, I am still looking at the three-year-olds, and I think Henry Longfellow could be the answer. The last time we saw him, he pushed Rosallion really close to finish second in the St. James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and put up arguably a career-best performance. I think tactically Ryan Moore might try and make the running on him from the front and control the pace. Moore is the master of front running, and he has given several terrific rides riding that way this season. It wouldn’t surprise me if he did the same here and took all the beating.
4.10 Goodwood – Power Of Destiny (Win)
Though she only came second last time out at Nottingham, I thought it was a good run by Power Of Destiny. She had to concede a 7lb penalty to a smart Godolphin rival that day, and that’s ultimately what probably made the difference. Now the daughter of Sea The Stars makes her handicap debut off a mark of 87, which looks fair on what she’s achieved so far. Also, she gets the three-year-old weight for allowance, which means well in on ratings against her elder rivals. Lastly, another thing to note is the jockey booking of Oisin Murphy. Murphy doesn’t ride for Sir Michael Stotue very often, but when he does, they have a 26% strike rate together in the past five seasons.
4.45 Goodwood – Storm Call (Each Way)
This is probably the trickiest race on the card, but at the prices I thought Storm Call could be worth a go each way. She’s been quite a consistent filly on all her starts so far, and ran well in a hot nursery at Windsor a couple of weeks ago. This time she’s back taking on her own sex, and she seems to be effective on quick ground. There are plenty you can make a case for, but she has a chance if building on her recent effort.
5.20 Goodwood – Wobwobwob (Each Way)
I’m looking at some of the outsiders here, and the one that makes the most sense to me is Wobwobwob for Adrian Keatley. He ran very well in this race last year to finish second. Though it was on testing ground, he’s proven on all sorts of surfaces, so the faster conditions shouldn’t be a problem here. Furthermore, Hollie Doyle being booked for the ride is a big plus. The last time she rode him, they won the Silver Cup at Ayr together, so that needs marking up. Others might be better handicapped, but I think going back up in trip to 7f looks a positive move, and I think he can outrun his odds.