The highlight of Wednesday’s racing action is the Group 1 Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
My regular readers will know that I had a 16-1 ante-post interest in Kingman for the 2000 Guineas so it was very frustrating to see him beaten close home by Night Of Thunder. He reversed that form in some style at Royal Ascot after bolting up in the Irish Guineas and is clearly the top miler of his generation.
On Wednesday he is set to meet the four-year-old Toronado, a half-length winner of this race a year ago from Dawn Approach. He flopped when tried over a mile and a quarter but was back to his best when winning the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot last month.
Tactics are going to be vital here with both horses usually held up. There are only three other runners, two trained by Aidan O’Brien so it will be fascinating to see if he has any plans for Darwin and War Command. Outstrip ran much better at Ascot than at Newmarket and he is another that is suited by being dropped in behind. Providing the race does not develop into a crawl, Kingman should come out on top.
The card opens with a quick reappearance for Maid In Rio, one of our Ascot hat-trick on Friday. She was as easy a winner as you are every likely to see and gets in here with just a 3lb penalty. The handicapper would probably like to increase that by another 10 or 11lbs! The only question marks are the quick reappearance and the extra distance. She has another five furlongs to travel here but she won with her head in her chest last week and is impossible to oppose.
The Gordon Stakes is not the race it once was but still provides an interesting St Leger trial. Observational was very gutsy when winning here last time for Roger Charlton but connections would probably have liked to see a little more rain for him. Red Galileo was almost certainly flattered by his fifth in the Derby having been ridden to pass beaten horses.
I’m going to side with the Gosden and Buick team here with Cloudscape. He has disappointed before but finished to some effect at Ascot behind Cannock Chase and the likes of Snow Sky look vulnerable to a turn of foot. It would also make amends for Buick’s awful ride in this race a year ago when he was a fast finishing second.
Maid In Rio 1.55 Goodwood Wednesday
Cloudscape 2.30 Goodwood Wednesday @11-2 Paddy Power
Kingman 3.05 Goodwood Wednesday @4-7
