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Sprinter to bounce back to form in opener
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Johnston filly should go well
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Hopefully rounding off the day with a Royal winner
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The weather forecast is somewhat mixed for Goodwood this week and as things stand it looks likely we'll be starting the 'Glorious' festival on ground that's on the easy side of good, although which way it goes beyond Tuesday is anyone's guess.
So while we may not be looking for out-and-out soft ground specialists, it seems prudent to concentrate on those runners who don't mind a bit of dig, certainly for the opening day anyway.
Goodwood - 13:40 - Back Whenthedealinsdone each-way, four places @ 11/112.00
Whenthedealinsdone has winning form on good to soft ground, one of those success over Tuesday's C&D, and he makes plenty of appeal from an each-way perspective in the opening 5f handicap at 13:40.
It's probably fair to say that Roger Teal's 5-y-o has yet to fully hit his straps this season, but he's been coming down the handicap as a result and now races off the same mark as when winning at Ascot last September.
Although his 2023 performances have been more miss than hit, it's worth noting he was second in a small-field affair at Windsor in May, with subsequent Epsom Dash victor Navello (also runs here) back in third.
There was enough in that effort for me to suggest that Whenthedealinsdone is no back number, for all he's been below form on both occasions since then, though I suspect he just didn't take to first-time blinkers on his most recent start.
His usual cheekpieces are back on for this assignment, and the addition of a first-time tongue tie could well enable him to eke out a bit more than he's been showing of late. The booking of Oisin Murphy also looks a big positive.
This is a good and competitive contest, but we do have the bonus of an extra place on the Sportsbook (four instead of the usual three), and I'm hopeful that the selection will run a big race.
Goodwood - 17:05 - Back Espressoo each-way, five places @ 10/111.00
With 20 runners heading to post, the 1m fillies' handicap at 17:05 looks tricky to unravel, but working on the basis that a lot of those drawn very high will have their work cut out, we can at least narrow it down a bit.
The favourite is Sir Michael Stoute's lightly-race filly Stormy Sea, and it's easy to see why punters have been attracted to her given the sort of profile she has and the reprutation of her master trainer with similar sorts.
However, she did disappoint in listed company last time and I'm going for the 'solid citizen' option in the shape of Charlie Johnston's Espressoo.
It's no secret that the stable likes to target this meeting and they'll almost certainly have winners throughout the week, though given the somewhat scattergun approach to their placing it can be difficult knowing which ones to side with.
Espressoo was good last time, finishing second in listed company at Pontefract, and she looks far from overburdened off a mark of 88 as she steps back into a handicap.
A decent draw in stall four also a plus and I expect her to be ridden prominently by the evergreen Joe Fanning, who's having a cracking season in the saddle.
If the selection gets the run of things from a good berth, she'll be hard to keep out of the frame, particularly as we have five places to go out from an each-way perspective.
Back Candle Of Hope @ 15/28.50 each-way, four places, in 17:35 Goodwood
The final race of the day, a 6f fillies' handicap at 17:35, sees us have another extra place on offer on the Sportsbook, and that makes the Royal runner Candle Of Hope a very attractive proposition.
The winner of her first two starts last year, this daughter of Cable Bay has been quite highly tried since then but really caught the eye on her first start in a handicap in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot last time.
She travelled strongly that day before just wandering a little late on over the 1m, eventually finishing a good fifth in that 29-runner field, and she'll have no issue whatsoever dropping back to 6f (won over this trip on debut).
As big festivals go, this race doesn't appear all that competitive and it can be narrowed down to a handful or so, of which Candle Of Hope is top of the shortlist.