A huge field will line up for the Coral Golden Mile Handicap at Glorious Goodwood on Friday in what is one of the toughest punting puzzles of the week. Our man Steve Chambers has been given the task of trying to find the winner and he picks out his best bet for what should be a stunning renewal in front of the ITV Racing cameras.
BLUE FOR YOU
(Daniel Tudhope/David O’Meara)
Unplaced in the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot, David O’Meara’s Blue For You stormed back into the limelight at York last time out when winning a competitive handicap. He will have to defy a 3lbs penalty in this contest, so will face a stiffer task and he was unable to land a blow in last year’s renewal when finishing 10th in this contest. He lines up in excellent form and has to be on the shortlist.
HOLLOWAY BOY
(Sam James/Karl Burke)
A stunning winner on debut in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot, but Holloway Boy hasn’t tasted victory since that day in 2022. Hugely consistent, Karl Burke’s charge was fifth in the Royal Hunt Cup, while he was last seen finishing second in the Coral Challenge Handicap at Sandown Park. He remains on the same mark of 105 for this event, but off top weight he has to produce a career best to land the win.
PEROTTO
(Tom Marquand/Roger Varian)
A winner of the Shergar Cup Mile last season, Perotto then ran an absolute stormer when finishing third in the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot in June. Showed that wasn’t a flash in the pan when finishing a neck behind Holloway Boy at Sandown Park and Roger Varian’s charge is sure to put up a bold bid for victory in this event. He’s another that remains on the same mark as his Sandown run, so is well weighted to run a big race, but is another high in the weights.
NEW IMAGE
(Jason Watson/David O’Meara)
A winner at Musselburgh at the start of June, New Image continued to run well on his next two starts when finishing third at York and second at Ascot. The latter saw him just being touched off in the International Stakes at Ascot, where he was beaten by Northern Express, and a repeat of that effort should see him go very close here. This is another tough assignment, but he’s shown he relishes big fields, so is a leading contender.
THE FIELD
Rebel Territory has been off the track for over a year, but was last seen winning the Victoria Cup at Ascot, so if he can return in the same form then he has to be a key player. Richard Hannon’s Classic was well beaten at Sandown on his previous outing, but he’s better than that and can’t be discounted, while Silent Film was another in that same Sandown event and is looking to improve on that fifth placed finish. In such a competitive field there are a whole plethora of runners that could play a notable role and at big odds the likes of Bopedro, Rhoscolyn and Dutch Decoy all have smart form in the books and perform well in these sort of events, so are another trio to mention.
VERDICT
David O’Meara’s NEW IMAGE has been in terrific form this season and he was unlucky last time out not to get his head in front, but he can go one better on Friday and land victory in this contest. Blue For You is another form performer and should be on the vicinity and grab second spot, while the big-priced Bopedro can hit the frame at big odds.
2024 Coral Golden Mile Handicap Predicted 1-2-3
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