Racing Live - Goodwood 30th May 2008
18:05 That's it from a lovely afternoon at Goodwood, not quite glorious but a great afternoon all the same. If you have never been to Goodwood before make a point of visiting - you will not be disappointed. 18:00 For the second day running a 2 mile flat race goes to a front runner. Today it was the turn of At The Money under Richard Hughes who set off in front and fended off some late challenges, notably from Lady Deadlock and Whaxaar. Two furlongs out it looked as though the favourite Go Amwell would be playing a part in the finish but he flattered to deceive. To be honest there is little else to report coming out of the race. 17:32 Just one more race to go and it is the longest of the afternoon, a two mile handicap. Originally with sixteen declared but now reduced to 12 with the non-runners. 17:21 In days of yore the monarch could order “off with their heads” I wonder if HM would like to have the same powers today? Her runner in this race, Victoria Reel, was always to the fore, hanging on in the slipstream of leader Ma Vie En Rose in the early stages . Two furlongs out she took the lead under Richard Hughes, however Cosmopolitan managed to get a clear run and came alongside the Royal runner. To her credit Victoria Reel fought back but it wasn’t enough. To rub salt into the wounds the well backed La Sarrazine flew inside the final half furlong to deny the Royal runner the runners up spot by a short head and, in all probability, would probably have been the winner had the race been 20 yards longer. The first three all caught the eye and all look to be future winners. 16:50 Idle Power certainly wasn’t idle but he did have the power to win this seven furlong under a driving finish from Amir Quinn, holding off the challenge of the fast finishing favourite The Snatcher. The winner put up a pillar to post victory although it is not certain if this was the planned tactics, it seemed Amir Quinn had little choice as his charge took a really strong hold. Having said that it says a lot that the horse still had the stamina to hold on at the business end. Although an exciting finish this probably is not a race to get to excited or pragmatic about. 16:40 In a postscript to our fourth race Shane Kelly, rider of the runner up Stand In Flames picked up a four day ban for careless riding after causing a domino effect inside the final furlong. 16:15 It was a heartache for Buddy Holly, upped in class, who was narrowly beaten by the well backed second favourite Black Jacari who managed to get a clear run along the far rail and took the lead in a matter of strides inside the final furlong. The favourite Mezzanisi ran no sort of race and the only mention in running was the beast was tailed off behind the rest of the field after two furlongs and that was with the pace being generally slow. Two eye catchers for me from this race. The runner up Buddy holly lost nothing in defeat and the fourth placed horse Rock Peak was running on really impressively towards the end and is worth another chance. 15:40 The idea of a handicap race is horses are weighted so, in theory, all the horses should more or less finish in a line. Well that’s the theory anyway. In practice it doesn’t always happen and this latest race is a case in point. In truth the betting told it all. 8/13 for Master Of Arts, 11/2 Longevity and 12/1 bar. Master Of Arts was also running under a 12lb penalty. Whatever weight he was given, once he made his run there was only going to be one winner and that was the odds on favourite, trained by Sir Mark Prescott and ridden by Seb Sanders. In the early stages Seb Sanders kept the favourite boxed in, once in the straight the field fanned out leaving an opening for the favourite and the rest, as they say, is history. The second favourite Longevity flattered to deceive but was unimpressive.
15:15 As an adjunct to racing this afternoon there is an aviation theme with various flying displays. Those of us in the press room have just been left open mouthed by the display we have just seen. Basically a glider being towed and doing aerobatics, including barrel rolls. Apparently the glider pilot also flies 747’s for British Airways – remind me not to get on one of his flights.
15:05 The punters are gettin g value for money today as we have another exciting finish – I’m not sure if judge Di Clarke is on piece rate, if so she will be coining it in this afternoon. Interestingly it was two of the newcomers who fought out the finish with Woolston Ferry, who had been in the van for most of the race, just being headed on the line by Creshendo under Seb Sanders, the front two finishing 3 lengths ahead of the remainder. Head Down was sent off the 13/8 favourite but he never looked happy in the ground eventually finishing eighth of the ten runners. Of those finishing behind nothing else really caught the eye.
14:52 A tricky little race from a punting viewpoint next. Ten runners over the straight six and half the field are debutants. A look in the parade ring doesn’t reveal that much, this will be a watching rather than betting race. 14:45 Richard Hughes who rode the winner in the first said the jockeys are in a Catch 22 situation regarding the ground on the round course. The better ground in the straight is on the stand side yet to tack across to the stand side the riders have to concede four lengths. Seb Sanders attempted that tactic on Moon Sister in the first and it did not work – in theory if the lost four lengths were added to his distance he may well have finished second instead of fifth. 14:35 A really breathtaking finish to the second race, a real bob of the head affair. Megalala set the pace, which wasn’t that frenetic. As usual the real action began as they turned for home. Eventually there was a three horse go approaching the final furlong, with Lunar River, Megalala and Merrymadcap all in a line. Lurking behind them was Paraguay under Jamie Spencer. Come the final half furlong Lunar River and Megalala had dropped out of contention. Paraguary headed Merrymadcap in the last hundred yards but Stece Drowne on the latter fought back and would not go down without a fight. In the end the former prevailed in a bob finish. These two finished well clear of the remainder and are both ones for the future. 14:05 A good crowd for a Friday afternoon there are even some families on Trundle Hill watching the racing for free. The first race went to the well backed favourite, Round The Cape, following up on his Newbury second, although he had to work for the win. The fly in the ointment was Walter Swinburn’s Soft Shoe Shuffle who, after settling towards the rear, niggled at the winner inside the final half furlong. The pair were separated by a neck and they finished 3¾ lengths clear of the front running Fountains Abbey. The first two are definitely ones to take out of the race although it would have been better to have seen the winner come home by further. The victory was all the more astounding as the winning jockey, Richard Hughes, reported the filly did not handle the going. 13:35 25 minutes to our first race and all the money seems to be coming in for Richard Hannon's Round The Cape, second in a decent maiden at Newbury. Is now showing shades of odds on. 13:00 Good afternoon from Goodwood, where the weather is overcast. Some good size fields this afternoon, although we do have several non-runners - details on the right. |
Results1:55 1st 9 Round The Cape evens fav 2:25 1st 11 Paraguay 6/1 3:00 1st 11 Creshendo 11/2 3:35 1st 2 Master Of Arts 8/13 fav 4:10 1st 3 Black Jacari 4/1 4:45 1st 4 Idle Power 9/2 5:15 1st 2 Cosmopolitan 10/1 5:50 1st 5 At The Money 15/2 |