Steve Chambers takes a look at the action at Glorious Goodwood on Friday 1st August and picks out his best Goodwood Friday tips for what should be a sparkling day. He provides his best bets here, which includes a monster priced selection in the Golden Mile Handicap at 2.30pm.
1:20pm Goodwood – Coral Goodwood Handicap
We kick off day four of the meeting with the longest race of the week, the Coral Goodwood Handicap, which is run over 2m 4f 97y, and it’s an exciting betting heat to start proceedings on the south coast. Mordor and Align The Stars are prominent figures in the betting, but the one to side with is last year’s fourth KYLE OF LOCHALSH, who is looking to improve on last season’s effort.
He struggled to reel in Master Milliner and two other opponents in last year’s contest, but he does take his chance off the same mark on Friday and that figure of 97 is certainly workable for Hughie Morrison’s charge. The five-year-old has won multiple times over 1m 6f, so if Oisin Murphy can just get himself not too far behind then he could be very tough to beat in the closing stages and he’s the selection here.
2:30pm Goodwood – Coral Golden Mile
Both the hat-trick-seeking Skukuza and the last-time-out winner Fifth Column head into a hugely competitive Golden Mile at 2:30pm in fine form and have to be leading contenders for this event, but in such a wide open renewal it could be worth taking a chance on a value alternative and there’s certainly some eye-catching runners at big prices.
Roger Varian’s FANTASTIC FOX has some excellent form on the all-weather and was last seen running a decent race at Newcastle, so heads to Goodwood in decent form. A return to turf is certainly the worry, and he was down the field in the Lincoln Handicap at the start of the season on his last effort on grass, but he certainly has the potential to cause a stir off 94 and could be a decent value each-way play at odds of around 40/1.
3:05pm Goodwood – King George Qatar Stakes
If ever NIGHT RAIDER can blow his rivals away it would be in the King George Stakes, where he could potentially build up an unassailable lead and at double-figured odds, at the time of writing, Karl Burke’s raider is worth taking a chance on. Last seen down the field in the July Cup at Newmarket over six furlongs, he was comfortably clear of the field through the early stages before being gobbled up.
He showed blistering pace over five furlongs in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot before yet again struggling to get home, but the rapid nature of Goodwood’s track could see him very hard to catch. Australian speedball Asfoora is sure to be staying on well in the closing stages and will be looking to claim more British prize money, while Big Mojo could be a pest for the lead, but Night Raider looks tailor-made for this and can duly blast his rivals away.
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