Guide to Glorious Goodwood Day 1

Five days of top-class action await as we kick off the 2018 Glorious Goodwood Festival, with three Group 1 contests in store in a packed week of racing. The first day of action has three pattern races, with the feature being the Group 1 Goodwood Cup, as Stradivarius bids to retain his crown that he gained twelve months ago. Our Glorious Goodwood Tips can be found on site now for Day 1, with a guide to all the key points of the day found below!

Stradivarius aims to keep his Stayers’ Million bid on track

A new staying star has been born this season, with Stradivarius proving he’s got all the class. A return win in the Yorkshire Cup kicked off his campaign prior to a gutsy victory in the Ascot Gold Cup, getting up late on to deny Vazirabad. He returns to Sussex aiming to defend his crown he won twelve months ago, where he defeated Big Orange by nearly two lengths. If he does win this, he’ll be heading to the Lonsdale Cup to try and claim the Stayers’ Million, but let us not get ahead of ourselves. He’s classy, yes, but Torcedor beat him last season in the Long Distance Cup at Ascot last October, and who’s to say he can’t do it again?

Our Goodwood Cup tips and betting preview can be found here!

Johnston looks for a fourth Vintage with Dark Vision

Won last year so impressively by Expert Eye, the Vintage Stakes tends to throw up a star two-year-0ld, with Olympic Glory, Highland Reel and Galileo Gold all recent winners. Mark Johnston has won the contest three times, with perhaps the most notable winner being Shamardal, and he bids for a fourth success in the race with Dark Vision. A son of Dream Ahead, he’s unbeaten in two starts and showed an impressive turn of foot to win under a penalty at York two weeks ago despite a tardy start. The market sees this a match between him and Martyn Meade’s Confiding, who won his debut in great style and the form has worked out very well, so a cracking contest is in prospect.

Our Vintage Stakes tips and betting preview can be found here!

Races

1.50pm – Matchbook Betting Exchange Handicap (Class 2) (1m 1f 197y)
2.25pm – Qatar Vintage Stakes (Group 2) (7f)
3.00pm – Lennox Stakes (Group 2) (7f)
3.35pm – Goodwood Cup (Group 1) (2m)
4.10pm – Nginious! Swiss Gin EBF Maiden Stakes (Class 2) (6f)
4.45pm – Chelsea Barracks Handicap (Class 2) (5f)
5.15pm – Matchbook Time To Move Over Fillies’ Handicap (Class 3) (1m)

Going and Weather Report

Going: Good, Good to Firm in places on the round course

Weather: Chance of rain early morning, dry and sunny thereafter, high of 20°c, low of 12°c

Market Movers

1.50pm – Plutonian (16/1 in to 14/1)

1.50pm – Medrano (14/1 in to 12/1)

3.00pm – Here Comes When (18/1 in to 16/1)

4.45pm – A Momentofmadness (16/1 in to 14/1)

Stats Of The Day

• Since 2003, only two horses from outside the top three in the betting have won the Goodwood Cup, which would make this year’s race between Stradivarius, Torcedor and Idaho
• Ralph Beckett is showing a massive £16.50 profit to level stakes from nine runners at Goodwood this year, he runs Junius Brutus in the Vintage Stakes at 2.25pm