Glorious Goodwood: In-running tips for day two

General / Jack Houghton / 29 July 2008 / Leave a Comment

Jack Houghton on the in-running plays and lays for Wednesday's Channel 4 races from Glorious Goodwood.

2.15pm

This race employs a taped-start in front of the stands, with the horses proceeding uphill, before taking a left, negotiating a long, right-hand bend with an adverse camber, then a second uphill section, before a tight swing right and a predominantly downhill run to the finish.

I'm tired just writing that; so will be opposing horses in-running who may travel well, but have no form guarantee of fully staying this marathon trip. La Vecchia Scuola, Keelung, Mudawin and Daylami Dreams - all fancied horses - have no confirmed flat form over anything like this trip and could easily trade short in-running without being able to go on and win.

Cavendish and Directa's Digger both have a tendency to hang right in finishes and Goodwood's camber is unlikely to suit. I'd be a layer of either of these two horses at short odds in a tight finish.

2.50pm

Baycat steps up from five furlongs with no obvious reason why he'll improve for it. I'll be looking to lay the horse at short odds if travelling well in-running.

Firth Of Fifth has been successful when front-running, but he got a soft lead in the Superlative at Newmarket and will likely be hassled here, particularly by Shaweel, who was surprisingly held up that day. I'll be looking to lay him in-running should the market overreact to a hard-pressed lead.

Sayif hung right at Newmarket last time and, although it's early to talk habits, two seconds, beaten a short-head each time, means I'd be prepared to lay him in a tight finish.

3.30pm:
Raven's Pass is quickly developing the profile of a nearly horse. He always seems to travel well and come with a good late run, but usually when the race is over. If trading much shorter than his likely pre-race price of around [6.6], he would be worth an in-running lay.

Henrythenavigator really reminds me of a previous Ballydoyle inmate, and past winner of this race, Rock Of Gibraltar: in that he travels exquisitely and is genuinely able to quicken in the final stages of a race (most horses simply run past slowing competitors). If you fancy Henrythenavigator, he is likely to very quickly trade at shorter odds in-running, so could be a back-to-lay prospect.

4.05pm:
A difficult race to get an in-running grasp on. There is lots of pace in the race, and assuming a fast pace, I'll be watching those horses coming from the back late on. Daraahem is not one to trust in a tight finish; he's had steering issues in the past.