David Morgan
The unpredictability of British summertime was evident on Thursday when an unexpected torrential downpour changed the Goodwood going to heavy in a matter of minutes, so you wouldn’t be betting your life on the forecast for drier weather into and through Saturday holding true. Parasol or umbrella? Welcome to high summer in England.
As mentioned in our day one focus, being close to the coast and high on the downs looking down on Chichester harbour, Goodwood is no stranger to wet weather rolling in off the English Channel. Horses that like juice in the ground should be looked at with serious interest if more rain does fall.
The big feature of the final day is of course the Stewards Cup, a historic big-field handicap which in its present form as a six-furlong sprint goes back to 1840. No horse has won the race more than two times, the sixth and latest being the Michael Dods-trained stalwart Commanche Falls, successful in 2021 and 2022. The eight-year-old pride of County Durham has not contested the last two editions – winning a Group 3 in the interim – but with his rating back down to below triple figures, he will try to make history under Connor Beasley.
Last year’s winner Get It lines up off a win last time in the Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot. Knight Of Mercy in 1990 was the last horse to complete that double in the same year.
Watch out for Group 1-winning Japanese jockey Mirai Iwata, too. He rides the promising Headmaster for William Haggas in the Whispering Angel Handicap.
NAP: R1 #1 Al Aasy
Andrew Hawkins
On a day when handicaps are the headline act at Goodwood, the Whispering Angel Handicap for three-year-olds over seven furlongs looks one to watch. It has proven a reliable guide for the future before and this year’s race is set to serve a similar purpose.
Three of the last five winners – Witness Stand, I’m A Gambler and Land Of Legends – have gone on to win at stakes level and this year looks a deeper race than previous years.
Mudbir, a Kingman half-brother to Mostahdaf, looked well suited to seven furlongs at Sandown last start and gets in well at the weights. Yah Mo Be There was fifth in the G3 Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot, while Consolidation was simply caught on the wrong side in the Britannia Stakes the same week.
The Summer Handicap over a mile and six furlongs can often throw up an Ebor Handicap contender; the last to complete the double was the high-class Trawlerman in 2022.
Wathnan Racing’s French Duke, a mile and a half winner at the Festival last year, is likely to start favourite in the Summer Handicap and is right in the market for the Ebor. He steps up to this trip for the first time. ∎
NAP: R2 #8 French Duke
