The quality flat racing keeps on coming, and this week the best horses and trainers throughout the UK and Ireland head to Sussex for the Glorious Goodwood Festival. The opening day of the festival is headlined by three fantastic races – the Grade 2 Vintage Stakes, Grade 2 Lennox Stakes, and the only Grade 1 race of the day, the Goodwood Cup Stakes 2022.
Here is everything you need to know.
Vintage Stakes
Grade 2, seven furlongs, open to two-year-old horses. Total prize pool £150,000
Nine will head to post for this year’s renewal and the betting is led by the Karl Burke-trained Holloway Boy. A horse that could be anything, this is only his second ever run after announcing himself in stunning fashion by winning the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot on debut.
Next in the betting comes the Charlie Appleby-trained Mysterious Night. Already a contender at this level, Appleby will be hoping his charge can use his third-place finish in the Group 2 Close Brothers Stakes to good effect and help him land this race for the first time since 2019.
The only other horse that enters this race unbeaten is Dear My Friend, who is trained by Mark Johnson. Campaigned cleverly, Dear My Friend has won well at the novice level, Johnson hasn’t saddled a winner in this race since 2004 but will hope that the record changes here.
Richard Hannon Jr saddles Dark Victory, a horse that has been highly tried, and brings in some decent Group 2 form following his third-place finish in this year’s Superlative Stakes. At a bigger price, he could be one to follow.
Prediction
Holloway Boy really could be anything and could win this race comfortably, however, with just one run in the books, inexperience may cost him and it might be safer to back Mysterious Night who has solid experience at this level and can be backed at a good price.
Vintage Stakes Odds
| HORSE | JOCKEY | VINTAGE STAKES ODDS BY JAZZSPORTS |
| Holloway Boy | Danny Tudhope | +200 |
| Mysterious Night | William Buick | +400 |
| Dear My Friend | Franny Norton | +600 |
| Dornoch Castle | Cieren Fallon | +700 |
| Galeron | Kieran Shoemark | +750 |
| Dark Thirty | Ryan Moore | +800 |
| Marbaan | Jamie Spencer | +1000 |
| Dandy Man Shines | Tom Marquand | +4000 |
| Jiffy Boy | David Probert | +4000 |
Lennox Stakes
Grade 2, 7 furlongs, open to horses three and over. Total prize pool £100,000
The second graded contest of the day is the Lennox Stakes.
This year eleven horses are hoping to bag this prestigious Group 2 event with many of Britain’s finest yards being represented.
Leading the betting is the William Haggas-trained Sacred. Sacred has won two of his four starts this season which includes a pair of Grade 3 and Grade 2 contests. He has found the step up to Group One class company too hot, but at this level will be a danger to all.
One horse that will enter the race in great form is Pogo. Trained by Charlie Hills, Pogo has netted a couple of Grade 3 contests so far this season and is looking to bag his first Grade 2. He has been a placed performer at this level in the past and could be a real danger to all.
Despite not getting his head in front this season, Lusail has had an excellent campaign running with a great deal of credit in a couple of Group One races this season. A second-place effort in the St James Palace Stakes where he finished behind the impressive Coroebus is a good piece of form and despite going five races without a win, he could be the value play of the race.
A horse that is bound to attract plenty of attention is last year’s winner, Kinross. Trained by Ralph Beckett, the booking of Frankie Dettori certainly catches the eye. Kinross has struggled since his win a year ago but has some solid form in the books, which includes a fourth-place finish in the Group One Qatar Prix de la Foret and a respectable 8th in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes. This is a track he clearly likes and it would be dangerous to discount him.
For those interested in backing horses to place, it could be worth considering the complete outsider of the field Sir Dancealot. Now aged eight, Sir Dancealot is a two-time winner of this race and could potentially spring an upset, and a finish in the top 3 shouldn’t be discounted.
Prediction
Despite Sacred’s presence at the top of the betting, there are other horses who bring solid form into the race. Pogo looks like a horse who has improved greatly this season and has placed at this level in the past, we are backing him to go one better this time around.
Lennox Stakes Odds
| HORSE | JOCKEY | LENNOX STAKES ODDS BY JAZZSPORTS |
| Sacred | Tom Marquand | +180 |
| Lusail | Pat Dobbs | +480 |
| Pogo | Kieran Shoemark | +480 |
| Kinross | Frankie Dettori | +600 |
| Laneqash | Jim Crowley | +800 |
| Sandrine | David Probert | +1600 |
| Ever Given | Danny Tudhope | +1800 |
| Gubbass | Ryan Moore | +1800 |
| Happy Power | James Doyle | +2800 |
| Lord Of The Lodge | Clifford Lee | +4000 |
| Sir Dancealot | Paul Mulrennan | +4000 |
Goodwood Cup Stakes
Grade 1, two miles, open to horses three and over. Total prize pool £500,000
Arguably the race of the week is the Grade 1 Goodwood Cup Stakes 2022. The headline act will be Stradivarius who is bidding to win this race for the fifth time. A legend in the staying division, this could be Stradivarius’s last ever run before he is retired and he will be looking to go out with a bang.
Controversy has reigned supreme in the build-up to the race with regular jockey Frankie Dettori being stripped of the ride with Andrea Atzeni taking the place of his countryman.
Stradivarius will once again line up against Kyprios who beat him in the Ascot Gold Cup. Stradivarius was finishing fast that day and had he not met traffic at several key junctures he could have gone on to win the race. Connections of Stradivarius will be hopeful of turning the form around.
Whilst Stradivarius will be exiting the staying scene, Kyprios’s journey is just beginning. He confirmed his potential with a gutsy victory in the Ascot Gold Cup and will be hoping to land his second Grade One in as many months with a victory here.
Rounding off the top three in the betting is Trueshan. There is a chance that if the ground is too firm he will be withdrawn, but if there is some give in the ground he could be the one to be on.
It’s hard to look beyond the top three in the betting, but one horse who could run a big race at a huge price could be Coltrane. A winner of his last two starts, he takes a big step up in class, but heads into it full of confidence and could very well play a part in proceedings.
Prediction
When looking back at the Ascot Gold Cup it’s easy to make a case that Stradivarius could have won that race granted a better passage. The change of jockey to Andrea Atzeni is no concern as Atzeni and Stradivarius have won this contest twice in the past. Stradivarius is a legend of a horse, and we fancy him to end his storied career with a nineteenth Grade One success.
Goodwood Cup Stakes Odds
| HORSE | JOCKEY | GOODWOOD CUP STAKES ODDS BY JAZZSPORTS |
| Kyprios | Ryan Moore | +150 |
| Stradivarius | Andrea Atzeni | +250 |
| Trueshan | Hollie Doyle | +333 |
| Coltrane | Rob Hornby | +1000 |
| Princess Zoe | J M Sheridan | +1800 |
| Away He Goes | Jim Crowley | +5000 |
| Enemy | William Buick | +5000 |
| Thunderous | Franny Norton | +6600 |
| Nate The Great | Tom Marquand | +8000 |
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