Monday 5th August 2019




Glorious Goodwood ended up being a quiet week in terms of blog posts but what a week of action it was. Pinatubo kicked off the festival with an absolute demolition job in the Vintage Stakes on Tuesday and it would take a brave man to oppose him for the rest of his juvenile season based on that performance. Later that day Stradivarius did what Stradivarius does, wins. A stylish ride from Frankie saw him celebrating before he'd even crossed the line (something Mr Gosden didn't seem to pleased about), and 24 hours later that pair would be celebrating again with Too Darn Hot landing the Sussex Stakes.

The big guns certainly came to the fore and the standard of racing was excellent but the story of the week for me came before the main racecard kicked off on Thursday. That is the story of Khadijah Mellah, the young teenager from Peckham who hadn't even sat on a horse two months ago, becoming the first jockey to ride in a hijab - and she won the race! I urge anyone who hasn't heard about this to read up on it, its a great story not just for racing but for society as a whole, inspirational stuff.

Anyway I'll stop waffling now and crack on with what everyone actually visits this blog for, some selections.


15:30 Ripon

 This six furlong handicap looks rammed full of pace so with the potential for a burn up in front I'm looking for a runner who is likely to be given a more patient ride. Lahore fits that profile nicely and comes here off the back of an encouraging run at Redcar, which suggests a return to form may be near and he may be able to capitalise on his falling handicap mark.

Watchable, Teruntum Star, Muscika and Bossipop all like to race prominently and a strongly run race should suit the selection here. Phillip Makin's charge was held up at Redcar last time and despite being hampered and forced to switch right multiple times in the straight, he rattled home late on and with a clearer run may have won that race. The handicapper has left him on a mark of 90 and if he can rediscover some of the promise he showed as a three year old he could be up to winning this.

Lahore 5/1 - 1 Point Win


16:00 Ripon

 The three I found myself focusing on when looking at this race were Cockalorum, Livvys Dream and Southern Rock. All three look to have progressive profiles but the weight for age allowance the latter receives is enough to sway me. Three year olds have taken the last three renewals of this race and the return to handicap company could see David O'Meara's charge get his head back in front again.

He found listed company a bit too hot last time and was unfortunate to bump into the progressive Dal Horrisgle in his hat-trick attempt, that rival was far from disgraced in the Group 3 Gordon Stakes at Goodwood last week. Southern Rock runs off a mark of 85 here and the way he finished off his race when winning at Hamilton in January suggests this trip could eek out the improvement required to defy his current mark.

Southern Rock 9/2 - 1 Point Each-Way

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