After a sensational Royal Ascot in which he landed an 80/1 winner, Matty Sutcliffe returns with daily columns for Glorious Goodwood. He has four selections for you to follow on day one.
1:50 Goodwood – Coral Chesterfield Cup Handicap (Class 2) (4yo+) – Loyal Touch 33/1 0.5pt EW 5 places
The Johnston yard are becoming tougher to predict since Mark left the licensing, and the rate of winner’s have taken a stark drop. Whether that is due to a lack of good horses in the yard, a change in regime, or both remains to be seen, but I’d have thought young Charlie will have primed his horses for Goodwood this week and LOYAL TOUCH can continue Johnston’s excellent record in the Chesterfield Cup.
The yard have taken four of the last ten renewals, with three of them having previously been beaten in the John Smith’s Cup at York prior that season. Loyal Touch was never put into that contest when a beaten 40/1 shot, but arguably shaped better than his finishing position suggested. He was dropped out in rear and raced wide throughout, and was given a hands and heels ride up the straight.
He was a blatant non-stayer in a competitive handicap at Ripon only a week later, but was also given little room on the rail from two out and his race was over in a flash. He’s only 2lbs above his one length win at Chester last month when coming from the widest stall, just getting up to win a shade cosily from Box To Box who led the field from flag fall. If returning to that level of form, then I’d expect him to outrun his odds for a yard who knows what it takes to land this prize.
2:25 Goodwood – World Pool Vintage Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (2yo) – Wolf Of Badenoch 11/1 1pt WIN
WOLF OF BADENOCH was relatively un-fancied when 15/2 for a Doncaster maiden last month, but despite evident greenness, he came from last to lead late on in typical Jamie Spencer fashion to win by a length and a half eased down. While the form has taken a couple of knocks, visually it was a promising debut particularly given the race favoured those to the fore (other runners in midfield/rear finished 6th, 7th, 9th) and the yards other runner was a well beaten favourite.
The son of Pinatubo has a pedigree destined to succeed in this race, as his sire won it in 2019 and Hugo Palmer won this race in 2015 with Galileo Gold, who’s sire is the dam’s sire of Wolf Of Badenoch. He’s a beautifully bred sort who could be a very smart type next season, but this looks the logical next step in his progression in an arguably below par renewal, and Jamie Spencer took this on Marbaan in 2022.
3:00 Goodwood – World Pool Lennox Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (3yo+) – Art Power 25/1 0.5pt EW 3 places
Kinross is likely to have been primed for his third success in this contest in recent seasons, but better could have been expected in the July Cup given he ran 15lbs below on RPR’s than he did in the race last season en-route to Goodwood, and that alone makes him worth taking on to the fore of the market. The progressive English Oak was impressive in the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Ascot last month, but he’s taking on a massive difference in the calibre of horses for his first foray into group company and I’d imagine he’ll be over-bet for the Wathnan team. Noble Dynasty holds the latter on his penultimate run, but he was well beaten in the Golden Mile here two years back, for all he’s undoubtedly a much improved model this season.
With enough reasonable doubt to take on the top three, I thought ART POWER was a criminal price as the outsider of the field. The admirable son of Dark Angel has only raced twice at seven furlongs, but both those efforts were on unfavourable firmer going and he was too free on the first occasion when three lengths behind Kinross at York two seasons ago. I thought his run in the July Cup last time out smacked of him going back up to try seven furlongs again. He was the only one to clock a a sub fourteen second first furlong, setting a strong gallop from the offset and once he was headed by a couple in the final furlong, then he could easily have continued to fold back through the field. But given he quickened up again and got up for fourth, clocking a quicker final furlong than Kinross, I thought he’d have no problem stepping back up in distance on a track that generally favours speedy sorts, and he’s certainly overpriced with Kinross in that respect, whom he did beat in the Champions Sprint last season.
While the forecast strong injection of pace could potentially expose any stamina weakness’, he’s shaped on several occasions that this trip is within reach so I’m keen to have him onside here at an insulting price at a track that should favour his style of running.
4:10 Goodwood – Coral Racing Club Handicap (Class 2) (4yo+ 0-105) – Miss Attitude 11/1 1pt EW 4 places
MISS ATTITUDE couldn’t quite reward us with a win five days ago in the racing league at Yarmouth, but I thought she was massively unfavored by the far-side bias that day and we can definitely mark her effort up. The race favoured those toward the far-side/centre, with the first and second leading for the majority of the way both coming from those track positions. Miss Attitude travelled well in midfield on the nearside but it was notable how her group were unfavored by their track position when the rest were all being shoved along early. The top two had already flown, but once De Sousa switched Miss Attitude to the centre of the track she picked up strongly to come home for third.
I thought she enjoyed being dropped in to a degree as I noted, but given the action all unfolded away from her she fared little chance, so the fact she’s drawn much better in stall five this time around near some likely pace angles in Democracy Dilemma, Night On Earth and Tattersall, she’s likely to be granted a good toe into the contest and can benefit from sitting just behind the leaders.
I’m not concerned about her being a pound out of the weights as I think she’s plenty in hand regardless, and the fact that they turn her out relatively quickly can only be a positive particularly given she was a convincing winner at Newbury last August when turned out eight days after winning at Sandown.
Matty Sutcliffe’s Glorious Goodwood Day 1 Selections
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