4.45pm Goodwood Tips & Betting Preview 05/08/2017

Andrew Balding and Mark Johnston have both won this twice in the last ten years but as neither have a runner here that doesn’t help us at all! We can add that not one favourite has won over that period with winners at up to 16/1 but a small field assemble in 2017 for the £18,765 first prize so read on for our full race preview ahead of the 4.45pm at Goodwood this afternoon.

IN SUMMARY: A quality handicap full of classy runners but none more so than top-weight TAAMOL who is dropping in class after finding them too much for her in a record breaking Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot. Reverting to handicap company now for the in-form Sir Michael Stoute yard he looks head and shoulders above these with the excellent Jim Crowley doing the steering.

1 TAAMOL – Not really seen at his best last time out at Royal Ascot when only fourteenth of twenty over this trip in the Group Three Jersey Stakes but that was a very classy renewal and he seemed to feel the much faster surface. Prior to that he had won at Newmarket in Listed class over this seven furlongs on a softer surface and although he has top weight here and has to give three pounds and more away all round, he is reverting to handicap company, and really ought to find this a lot easier. Sir Michael Stoute is in good form with a winner here yesterday (Poet’s Word) and with Champion jockey Jim Crowley in the saddle, he looks to have an excellent chance today.

2 MEDAHIM – The Richard Hannon yard are ticking over nicely with a 12% strike rate but better still, a level stakes profit of close to 28 points, and this son of Kodiac may well add to that if reproducing or bettering his recent win at Newmarket when taking a Class Two handicap by a length and a half from Masham Star on fast ground last month. On breeding he ought to handle this going well enough, and although he has been put up six pounds for that, he did it well enough and cannot be ruled out if he gets any early speed to aim at as he likes to come from off the pace. 

3 BATTERED – The in-form William Haggas yard are sitting pretty on a 29% strike rate in the last fourteen days as well as a 12 point level stake profit, and have decided to add first-time blinkers here to try and boost those figures. Last time out at York the Foxwedge gelding was bitterly disappointing when a seven length fifth to Get Knotted, looking very one paced indeed in the finish, and dropped just a solitary pound for that run, he looks to have a lot to find here and the headgear will need to have a pretty serious effect.

4 AVENTINUS – Two wins from just the three starts so far this season for Hugo Palmer’s colt with the latest over this course and distance on quicker ground in a Class Three handicap in June off a rating of 84. He was sent to the front two out that day and then held off any challengers to win by three-quarters of a length and does look to be improving with his racing, though a four-pound rise from the handicapper won’t make his life any easier.

5 MAYZOUN – Jockey David Egan takes five pounds off the back of the second Hugo Palmer runner here but whether that will be enough to make any difference at all seems open to debate. The son of Mayson has encountered soft ground twice now and been well beaten in both of them, with a nine and a half-length third over this trip at Newmarket in a lesser race the latest. On faster ground he may have been considered, but as things stand there are too many black marks, and others appeal a lot more unless the ground dries out by race time.

6 SIR TITAN – Gelded after two poor runs as a two-year-old and has raced twice this season with wins at Wolverhampton and Windsor. After a three and a half-length maiden win on the all-weather in June the son of Aqlaam scrambled home by a head on his handicap debut over the mile at Windsor when just holding on at the death. He may do that bit better back at seven furlongs here but seems unlikely to keep his unbeaten record in this field after being put up two pounds for his last win even with the in-form Hayley Turner in the saddle.

7 COLONEL FRANK – Not seen yet this season for trainer Ed Walker but the winner of two races from six starts at Ripon in a maiden and here at Goodwood over seven furlongs last October. Yet to encounter going this soft but as a son of Dutch Art there is a good chance it won’t stop him in his tracks, but a race of this standard first time out after just over nine months is a big ask even for a stable with a 14% recent strike rate, though it is worth noting that he has been gelded since he was last seen finishing sixth of seven on the all-weather at Kempton which in some horses can bring significant improvement.