Daryl Carter's Tips: 5/1 looks fair about King George Handicap hero

• Daryl takes a two-pronged attack on the opening race at Goodwood

• Free bet for customers betting £5 on multis during Goodwood. T&Cs apply.

• Back Desert Hero 5/16.00 to claim Group 2 Gordon Stakes

13:50 Goodwood - Back Perfuse @ 11/43.75 1pt win and Promoter @ 10/111.00 1pt e/w

It's very tough to find fault with Perfuse - 11/43.75 on the Betfair Sportsbook - at the head of the market, having done the best of those ridden in the first third of the King George Handicap - a race that's typically worth following each year.

He shaped like the best horse in the race on the approach to the home straight before being swamped in the final furlong, having been ridden too close to a strong gallop.

Still, when the race is married up to the Ribblesdale, it shows him in a favourable light, and the move back down to 1m2f off an unchanged mark in a weaker race from a good draw means the positives stack up.

Another plus point is that there is no guessing with him when it comes to the ground as he already has winning form on a soft/heavy surface, and Ryan Moore in the saddle means there are very few, if any, negatives with his chances.

He is very hard to oppose, although his current price point looks right at 11/43.75, with his prominent racing style sure to be well suited by this track. He is well worth keeping on side.

I am frustrated that William Haggas has opted for this race rather than the Class 3 on Friday with Garden Route. However, he is undoubtedly well handicapped, and if a horse outside of Perfuse has ten pounds in hand, it could be him.

He looks to have been let in lightly by the handicapper off 83, having split two horses rated 91 at Kempton last season, and he made a very encouraging return winning a minor event at Windsor on the back of a gelding and wind operation.

Adam Farragher - a jockey I love - claims a further three off, and there must be more to come. Still, the ground is a complete unknown, and his action suggests he wants it on the quicker side plus, this is a highly competitive race to make your handicap debut.

I have to pass, given the circumstances, reluctantly. He could relish these testing conditions for all I know, but there's no evidence for that yet.

Evidence shows Promoter - 10/111.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - will relish this soft ground. He was a selection for us on Saturday when I was ready to open up the vault and get a few quid on only for him to be a NR (Vets cert). As I file this column, the money has come for him today, 18/119.00 into 10/111.00. His negative is that this is a stronger race than he was due to contest on Saturday, and he is drawn in stall 18.

However, stall 18 may not be a detrimental place to be as the bigger groups yesterday were avoiding the far rail and coming down the centre, which saw draws 14, 15 and 18 fill the first three spots in the Fillies Handicap and stall 16 of 16 win the Chesterfield Cup.

With the ground having turned testing, they may decide to come stand-side, which would level the playing field slightly.

I made a strong case for Promoter on Saturday, and I won't bore you, regular readers, by repeating it, but it can be read in full here.

He is from the family of the smart French Leger winner Scope, who relished testing conditions as did his Dam, and he arrives having caught the eye in a very strong handicap at Epsom when it paid to be on the pace.

He is unexposed and firmly on an upward curve, and the more his stamina is stretched, the better he will be. I make him more of a 6/17.00 second favourite rather than a double-figure price, and he looks the horse overpriced in the market.

15:00 Goodwood - Back Desert Hero @ 5/16.00 1.5pt

This is a good little race for a Group 3, but favourite Espionage may have his quirks. He took an age to get going in a slowly run affair at Roscommon last time, but he also put the breaks on when hitting the front.

On the face of it, he only scrapped home, but he might have more in the locker when facing a truly run affair. He is short enough in the market and might be worth taking on.

Desert Hero - 5/16.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - is starting to fulfil his potential and arrives on the back of an excellent King George Handicap victory in which, granted, he was favoured by the pace collapse. Still, it wasn't all plain sailing, and he had to fight for room on multiple occasions to score there.

That effort backs up the promise he showed as a two-year-old when an impressive Nottingham debut winner on deep ground and a then unlucky third when favourite for the Group 3 Solario Stakes behind Silver Knott (110). Silver Knott ties in with Aidan O'Brien's absent Victoria Road, having been beaten a nose by him in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf, and that was the best two-year-old form from last season.

It might just pay to stick with Desert Hero, who is on an upward curve, proven on the ground and has some very strong form in the book.

He shaped in need of the run at Newbury when beaten three lengths in the London Gold Cup won by Bertinelli and reversed that form at Ascot. Still, the third, Exoplanet, went very close behind Waipiro in the Hampton Court (Canberra Lengend 5th), which ties in with Artistic Star.

It's a tight-knitted affair this contest, but Desert Hero might have more tactical speed than Chesspiece, who I rate his most significant danger ahead of favourite Espionage.

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