Wednesday's Meetings Glorious Goodwood Flat 7 Races 1:50-5:20p.m. Redcar Flat 6 Raced 2:05-5:00p.m. Galway Festival(E) Mixed 7 Races 4:50-8:15p.m. Sandown(E) Flat 6 Races 5:45-8:30pp.m. Leicester(E) Flat 6 Races 6:05-8:40p.m. Racecards At The Races Sporting Life Racing Post Good Luck
Morning all. Zanahiyr must have a hell of a chance in the Galway Plate this evening. His back catalogue in graded races would suggest a rating of 145 in this is very favourable. At 8/1 I’m on. Good luck all.
And a couple of £ ew on Grant Tuer’s Turpinator in the lucky last at Goodwood. 16/1. Plus an Ew barney rubble with Zanahiyr.
Another cracking renewal of the Galway Plate in which Pinkerton gets my e/w vote at 16/1. Last seen winning a similarly competitive event at Punchestown in May and I think the longer trip can bring about sufficient improvement to negate his 8lb rise in the weights.
Very saddened to hear that Facile Vega had to be put down after fracturing his pelvis as a result of kicking a wall with both hind legs. RIP
Obviously the Sussex Stakes has been weakened by the absence of Rosallion. That now leaves the problem of how to judge the St James’s Palace form, or more specifically the complete no show by the Guineas winner Notable Speech. The bookies have decided to go with Henry Longfellow, who got ‘first run’ on the Hannon runner but got mowed down near the line. I cannot see what handicapper Sonny Liston is doing here, other than the fact that everyone will get prize money; and the first time blinkers on Maljoom will surely not make him a 10lb better horse than when he was third in the Queen Anne. Facteur Cheval was behind in the Queen Anne but was second in this last year so he handles the track but the quick ground is an unknown as the Queen Anne was the only time he has encountered it. If a thunderstorm does not come for the French raider before 3:35 then I would go with the Guineas winner but not with any confidence. Although there are fifteen still in the Molecomb, I think it is easy enough to draw a line through nine of them. How the race is going to be run presents much more of an issue from trying to pick a winner. Archie Watson’s two runners both have good chances as does Ed Walker’s Celandine depending on how the race is run as he drops to the minimum trip. Tipperary Listed winner Usdi Atohi is going to have to improve on that effort but Donnacha O’Brien surely has not sent her just for a day out. My concern about all the front runners here is that they will cut each other’s throats, so can course and distance winner Soldier’s Heart lay up just off the pace and pounce in the final furlong? If I was forced to bet on the race then I would probably chance that happening. I find it quite easy to eliminate the older fillies from the Oak Tree Stakes (2:25) as Sea Of Thieves was well behind Breege at Epsom, hardly inspiring one to believe she will fare well at Goodwood; and Breege was only second in a Listed race at this trip last time. Vetiver is clearly here looking for black type after winning a Listed race on the kitty litter but looks a few pounds below what the three year olds in this field have achieved. Pretty Crystal is penalised for her Nell Gwyn victory and looking at her fourth in the Prestige over course and distance last term does not make me think she will suddenly come good in cheekpieces today. Raqiya steps up a furlong after finishing sixth in the York race where Pretty Crystal was tenth, having won a Listed race before that. Outsider Ziggy’s Dream does look out of her depth but Stop The Cavalry, stepping up a furlong after winning a handicap over six on her return, could find the 10lb or so that she might need to challenge the front two in the betting. Kathmandu has yet to win this term but has been third in the Nell Gwyn, second in the Pouliches (which looks suspect) and a well beaten fifth in the Prix Jean Prat. So she is talking a drop in class but would I fancy her reversing form with Pretty Crystal? Far and away the standout piece of form here is JABAARA’s second in the Falmouth, prior to which she won a Listed race over this trip at Carlisle. She was only sixth in the Cheveley Park last year but must be well regarded enough to have even contested that and she can collect at this level.
Very impressive Notable Speech - put the race to bed once the cut-away appeared (any views on the cut-away? Does it help? Hinder? Make it too easy for a hold-up horse to get a run?). I thought Maljoom ran a very solid race again in second - must be frustrating for connections that he seems to just lack that killer turn of foot. I suppose they could think about stepping him up or down in trip or try for slightly less exacting mile G1s?
The 22-runner Tote Galway Plate (19:10), a Class-1, Grade-3, event over an extended 2m6f on good-to-yielding ground, is about as tough a nut to crack as you'll ever see in horse racing? Without further ado, selection is Amirite, who has decent form and seems to be an improving sort. Sam Twiston-Davies is an interesting booking to ride the horse for the successful stable of Henry de Bromhead. 12/1 (Coral/Ladbrokes) top price early-doors, on the ATR site. E/W best option.
I thought about having a little bet on Notable Speech when the price went out to 100/30 on Bet365 five minutes before the off as it was only a five runner race and he is a Classic winner. I would not say that he was given a hard race to win so he could still turn out for something like the Jacques le Marois later in August. What I expected to happen was Ryan to set the fractions on the favourite and he did so, albeit with Sonny Liston for company. He gave his horse a breather early in the straight but that just turned it into a two furlong sprint. Facteur Cheval had travelled well until the last two furlongs but found nothing when asked so perhaps he does not want quick ground. Maljoom has obviously had his injury problems (only ran once in 2023, it was his seventh career start) and they need to perhaps drop him into a Group 2 or 3 event – how about the Celebration Mile at the end of August or the Joel Stakes in September? As for the cut-away, I think it is just another unknown to factor in as it does not always work for horses that are being held up behind the leaders. As we have seen in several races, the horses behind frequently end up switching off the rail to come between runners if the leaders do not keep a straight line but go across to the rail. It is unlikely to work for horses held up at the rear as they still always tend to stick to the outside and come down the middle. Some good fortune with my Jabaara bet as Bet365 pay first passed the post. Strictly by the rules she was always going to lose the race as she hung right (into the whip) and although Crowley did not snatch up Raqiya he was always going to talk the stewards round to his mount given the margin was only a head.
