Day four of the Qatar Goodwood Festival. Here is where we stand on the card, race by race, and as always the first race of the day is free for everybody.
There is still time to get involved in our festival competition. Submit at least one of your NAPs on a horse running at Goodwood across the five days and you are in the running: pick your NAP on the racecards.
1:50 Coral Goodwood Handicap: two we want in the big staying handicap
The Coral Goodwood Handicap is a 0-105 over two and a half miles, and we have two we want to be with.
One quick note before we get to them, because it will jump out at you on the racecard. The draw by distance figures for this race are almost all zeros, with just a single one in there. That is not a glitch. This race did not historically start from stalls, and now it does, so there is barely any relevant history to draw on. Read those numbers accordingly.
The first we like is Valiancy (James Doyle), who is our Top Rated. He was last seen finishing sixth in the Copper Horse at Royal Ascot, and the eye-catching part is that he was sent off at 9/4 for a competitive handicap that day. When the market speaks that loudly about a horse in a race of that quality, we take notice, and we can absolutely see why he was favourite.
He did not get there at Ascot, but this extra trip should help him considerably, he is a pound lower here, and the cheekpieces go back on. If all of that comes together he could be exceptionally well handicapped.
The second is one of our own eyecatchers, Alphonse Le Grande (Jamie Powell), who finished fifth for us in the Northumberland Vase. He simply never got a clear run there and could not get going in time. That was over two miles on the all weather; this is two and a half on turf, and we think the switch suits him far better. He can be waited with, allowed to creep into it, and hopefully come down the outside with a real rattle.
Jamie Powell takes over in the saddle. The one thing to be mindful of is that the ground could come up a shade firmer than ideal for him, but if he can finish the way we know he can, he should be there or thereabouts. Valiancy is the one who could be really well treated; Alphonse Le Grande is the one who could come from a long way back and surprise a few.