Glorious Goodwood / Geoffrey Riddle / 01 August 2009 /

It's the last day of Glorious Goodwood and the sea mist and rain didn't stop Midday bagging her first Group 1. Geoffrey Riddle talks us through the rest of the card, and fills us in on all the runners, the riders and the gossip straight from the track. Email him your thoughts, queries and questions on: theriddleratbetfair@gmail.com

5.25pm result:
1: Bencoolen
2: Mountain Pride
3: Effigy
That basically sums up my Goodwood. Let's call it the 'unlucky last'. Bencoolen nicks it off Mountain Pride on the line, outstaying the Dunlop runner. And what's more, Bencoolen's apprentice jockey fell off his mount a few strides after the line. Why couldn't he have done that 100 yards earlier?

Well folks, that's it for another year. Glorious Goodwood fizzled out with a rather horrid day, and my punting has been pretty poor, save for one good Thursday. That's not to say we didn't see some top-class racing.

Rip Van Winkle's scintillating success in the Sussex Stakes on Wednesday was simply different class and you had to be impressed with Monsiuer Chevalier's come-from-behind display in the Molecomb Stakes the day before.

My favourite performance of the week though, was Kingsgate Native's blitzing of a high-class Audi Stakes field. It was great to see the boy come back. Surely there's nothing more humiliating for a colt than to return to stables having failed at stud. That's probably why Kingsgate Native had to be redirected to Sir Michael Stoute's yard. Can you imagine the regard he would have been held in by the other colts in Jim Best's yard?

I'm not sure when we are on air next time, but it's likely to be next week for the Shergar Cup at Ascot for a bit of weird racing and some bizarre 80s acts in the evening. Have a good weekend, and make sure you click in on Ed Hawkins' cricket blog if there is any play at Edgbaston tomorrow.

4.50pm result:
1: Bluie
2: Layla's Hero
3: Pintura
Dandy Nicholls strikes with his other runner, Bluie, but follows up with Layla's Hero just for good measure.

John Dunlop, the great Arundel trainer, is set to lift the crowd out their gloom in the lucky last. Mountain Pride has got a sensational chance here. His form over course and distance looks strong, as does his dead-heat for third at Ascot last week. He goes on soft, too.

I've also had a saver on the Richard Hannon-trained Cape Hawk. You can write off his last run, where the poor fellow was whipped in the face. I'd stop running if someone whipped me in the face.

I really need this. It hasn't been a vintage Goodwood form a punting perspective.

4.35pm
Forget about that previous post, Dubai Set has been scratched from this contest. Shame, because Avonrose, who has also been scratched, had a fair chance, too.

Layla's Hero is saddled by David Nicholls, who has won this race for the last three years. And it is not as if he has adopted his Stewards' Cup scatter gun approach either, because each time the winner was his only runner. Who knows whether the gelding will handle the going, but he's by One Cool Cat, who preferred good to firm going, but finsihed third in the Nunthorpe on 'soft'. Make your own guess.

Richard Hannon has sent out 18 runners in this race during the last decade and boasts two winners and six places, but with Dubai Set out, he relies on Palisades Park, ridden by Ryan Moore.

It looks a fiendishly difficult contest. Like Theo Paphitis might say: "I'm out."

4.15pm result:
1: Stag's Leap
2: Yarra River
3: Poor Prince
I can't really tell you what happened there either, safe to say that the run by Yarra River flags up a potentially interesting pun in the next, the six furlong nursery. More in a minute...

4pm:
Tom Queally summed up the problems that Midday layers faced ahead of the Nassau Stakes. Midday drifted like a barge on account of her lucklustre third to Sariska in the Irish Oaks at the Curragh on heavy going. But today she hacked up to take her maiden Group 1 victory.

The jockey said: "English soft ground and Irish soft ground are two different things. Midday hated the ground over there."

It is an interesting point. Katiyra perhaps didn't find the going heavy enough, while Midday was still able to sluice through the rain-softened going. Trainer Henry Cecil, who was wining the Nassau for the sixth time, seemed to confirm that view. "She has worked well on good to soft, but when she went to the Curragh she just couldn't go on it," he said. "I took a chance today and I couldn't bear to watch the race."

Cecil joked about having to ring Midday's owner, Prince Khalid Abdullah, if the gamble hadn't paid off. "I was dreading having to ring Prince Khalid to say 'Sorry Sir, I did the wrong thing,' but I heard people shouting for Midday and saying 'C'mon Midday' and I knew she was going well."

Midday may still go for the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks, where she should run into her Epsom and Curragh conqueror Sariska. Cecil continued: "Midday could go for the Prix De L'Opera of go for the Yorkshire Oaks - that race could come a bit soon, but second prize is worth £60,000, which is more than you get to going to Folkestone."

3.50pm
Stewards' Cup result
1: Genki
2: Evens and Odds
3: Knot In Wood
4: Markhab
5: Mac Gillie Eoin
Markhab looked like he was miles ahead before they went into the mist. I think there is some sort of Bermuda Triangle in there. How on earth did he get caught?
Genki continues the fine form of Roger Charlton in this race. The Beckhampton trainer has run only five horses in this race during the last decade and has now won it three times.

Charlton was hardly bullish before the race, but he did say that Genki would finish like a train. He certainly did, but I reckon jockey Steve Drowne must have stoked the fire in the mist because it was a power-packed finish.

I was bitterly disappointed when I saw Evens And Odds and Mac Gillie Eoin flash by the post. Jeez. I mean how hard is this punting game? I had earmarked them earlier as potential outsiders or each-way bets but was convinced that the rain had scuppered their chances.

3.38pm
Liz McClarnon is here. No, I didn't know her name either. But I knew her face though. And her voice. Check her out. She was in a lovely white number. What a smile. Anyway, Atomic Kitten fans will be glad to know that she's winning. She had Midday. And she's got Fishforcompliments inthe big race. Honest she does.

3.25pm
All the talk is that the racing may be called off either after the Stewards' Cup. You can understand why. There is also talk of Stewards' Cup favourite Markab tracking over to the stands' side from stall 13. I'm not so sure. The two times that Markhab has run for trainer Hendy Candy he has drifted right. That would suggest that naturally Markhab would drift towards the far side, where all the pace is supposed to be anyway.

Fear Binou. He has been smashed into. The mount of Richard Hughes was backed at a high of [36.0]. Robert Cowell's Mozart gelding now trades at [14.0]. It's a dramatic gamble, and you can see why. The gelding is extremely well handicapped. Consider the words of Cowell in today's Racing Post. "This has been the plan for six months," he said. "We'd settle for the easy side of good, although anything softer would be a help. If he does get his ground, he has a great chance."

Sounds extremely convincing doesn't it?

We've discussed the Stewards' Cup at length. My final synopsis is that Advanced is going to win. I think Sonny Red will be in the mix, and you'd be mad not to take one from the stands' side now the rain has come. That's my Tricast. Advanced, Sonny Red, Binou.

3.05pm result:
1: Midday
2: Rainbow View
3: Moneycantbuymelove
It certainly paid to have market watch set up didn't it? At 12.30pm I said that Midday would drift from [4.9] and two hours later it was advised to get out of any lays on the Henry Cecil filly at [7.4]. There's no way she should have traded at prices as big as that. I don't really know what happened though because as far as I was concerned, Katyira was winning, and then she suddenly wasn't. Who knows what happened in the mist?

2.55pm
My longshot pair in the Stewards' Cup, Evens And Odds and Mac Gillie Eoin have blown out. The rain has completely scuppered their chances. I suppose the Lord giveth and taketh away. My win by laying Gallagher was down to the rain. I'm just glad I hadn't got around to backing those two. Jimmy Style's chances are another to have sunk with the mud.

Markab and Sonny Red are sure to be heavily backed before the off. I wouldn't be surprised if Sonny Red edged favouritism. Markhab has run six times on going ranging between Soft-Heavy. The six-year-old has two wins and two places in those conditions. Sonny Red has similar stats with three wins and two places from nine runs. Another David Nicholls runner with good soft ground form is Valery Borzov.

I'm coming around to Advanced. He won the Ayr Gold Cup in 2007 off 109 and was flexible enough with the going to win on firm, beating Thebes on his reappearance. His run in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot last time out was solid. Kevin Ryan is pretty hopeful about his chances. He's pitched between Valery Borsov and Tamgin, so should get plenty of pace with which to use.

The gamble on Katiyra and Rainbow View continues due to the soft going in the Nassau.

2.30pm result:
1: Zacinto
2: Hartley
3: Pure Poetry
Time: 1m.41.30
It pays to react quickly to what is going on doesn't it? Gallagher finished nowhere. You've got to write off this run from him though because he was highly unlikely to last home. Remember he finished second to Lord Shanakill over six furlongs last year. He could be a big price next time out.

Zacinto was pretty workmanlike there, but the presence of Pure Poetry in third suggests he could go on to better and greater things. The Godolphin duo of Ashram and Donativum were pretty disappointing.

Every single jockey who rode the first has described the going as soft. Neil Callan highlighted that the ground was loose, and the rain is simply getting into the ground very quickly. I'll try and monitor this throughout the afternoon as it could become pretty testing as the day goes on.

2.25pm
At 12.30pm we set up a Midday watch for the Nassau Stakes at 3.05pm. The Cecil filly was trading at [4.9] at the time. I told you all to watch the price like a hawk, as it was sure to drift. And how it has. Like the proverbial Contiki. Or, I suppose, the Mary Celeste. Or like a bunch of Cubans escaping Fidel's tough regime.

Anyway, Midday is now a whopping [7.4]. I think it would be fair to trade out a lay now. Although Sariska laughed at Midday in the Irish Oaks, the going is not heavy yet, and Midday's third place was still a pretty useful effort.

I've backed Katiyra. This race has been won by some of the best fillies in Europe in its time, and since its upgrade to a Group 1, seven winners have turned up with a Group 1 win to their name. The other three were Group 2 winners. Spacious, Katiyra and Rainbow View are the only fillies that meet those criteria.

2.15pm
I backed Gallagher for the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot. The good to firm going enabled Brian Meehan's charge to last home over the seven furlongs. He certainly didn't look like he needed the extra furlong of today's race back in June. The Berkshire track may be stiff, but there's no cambers like there is here.

The going is now officially SOFT here now. Gallagher has never won on soft. He's trading at [2.1] as a place lay at the moment.

You've got a Breeders' Cup juvenile winner in Donativum running for you. Godolphin also run the mega-consistent Ashram. Then there is the red-hot favourite Zacinto. Sir Michael Stoute's colt finished second in a Group 2 on soft ground at Doncaster last season. Finally there is Pure Poetry, a colt who has finished six lengths adrift of Mastercraftsman and Sea The Stars off level weights, and who almost beat Yamal here on good ground.

I think Gallagher looks a fair place lay, don't you think?

1.55pm result:
1: Eastern Aria
2: Citizenship
3: Lady Uachmhar
Eastern Aria did indeed take up the pace, and jockey Greg Fairley led for most of the way. It's the sort of ride that happens on soft ground, but we'll wait to make a judgement on the state of the going after the jockey's have weighed in.
Eastern Aria finished behind Roman Republic and Firebet last time out at Newmarket. That race is looking super strong form.

1.50pm
Commentator Richard Hoiles has got one hell of a job here in the first. It's almost impossible to see anything. What is he going to say?

I've got a bit tapped for toe here. All week the racing has kicked off at 2.10pm. This 1.55pm start has caught me out a bit. I was quite sweet on Itlaaq, who ran so well here last time out. John Dunlop's colt looked to improve for the step up in trip to 1m2f, too.

Zarinski's run at Royal Ascot behind Cosmic Sun reads very well though, and looks interesting with Mick Kinane on board. This could be messy though, because it is hard to know exactly where the pace might come from.

1.45pm
"It ain't Glorious Goodwood, is it?", goes the cry from the cheap seats. It certainly isn't. The mist is getting denser and the drizzle continues to annoy almost everybody. There is talk of abandonment, too. If the judges can't see the furlong pole, it could all be off. I hope they went to Specsavers before they came.

I have searched high and low for someone selling umbrellas. I went right through the Grandstand, the Richmond Enclosure, and the Lennox Stand. Nothing. It seems everyone is on the hunt for one. All together now with Rihanna: "Umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh," There were several women protecting their outfits with well-styled bin bags, cut out like a bib. Black, naturally. They'd look fat in white, I'm told.

1.30pm
I'll let you all into a little secret. My mother is a Princess. Yep, a real one. Not one of those women who act like one. Anyway, Clive Cox's colt in the maiden at 4.15pm couldn't have a more apt name for the position I'm in at the moment. Poor Prince it is called. It's been well backed, too. Money has been traded at as high as [16.0], and the son of Royal Applause has been traded at as low as 6.4. It's about [7.8] now.

Poor Prince was 20-1 when second to Dreamspeed at Sandown last month. That colt went on to be five lengths adrift of Xtension here earlier in the week in the Group 2 Vintage Stakes for which he was priced at 11-2. It looks strong form.

1.15pm
There is a rather appalling 119% book in the stalls market for the Stewards' Cup at the moment on Betfair. There's no liquidity.

Paddy Power go 110% on the same market, which is not terribly appealing either. But for those of you who want to get involved, the Irish firm go 11-8 for stalls 20-28, 13-8 stalls 10-19, and 9-4 for stalls 1-9. You can use these as a tissue for the market on Betfair. Hopefully we can drive this down to a more appealing over-round.

1pm
I've been looking at the dreaded Stewards' Cup. All this chit-chat about the draw. I reckon it is absolute rubbish. Looking at the stats provided by the racecourse, it seems that you can win the big sprint from just about anywhere.

Conquest, Zidane, Bordelescott and Gift Horse have all won from the middle in the last four runnings of this race. Before that Pivotal Point won from stall one. The high numbers have dominated, sure, and yesterday's Stewards' Cup consolation race was dominated by those drawn on the far side, the high numbers.

But there have been notable successes this week down the stands' side. Forget any track bias. It's going to be irrelevant. It is more about how the race will be run. Look at how the race is going to pan out. Look at where the pacemakers are housed. Look at where the old-up horses are going to fly home from. And look out for the dead wood, too. Rubbish horses get in the way.

With that in mind, I reckon that the winner will be drawn somewhere in the middle to high stalls. Big-race favourite Markhab likes to blaze a trail. Drawn from stall 13, Markhab should contest the lead with Valery Borzov, who flies out of stall 15. Tamagin will erupt from stall 20. While those three are all likely to track to the high stalls, the hold-up trio of Mac Gillie Eoin, Advanced and Evens And Odds will get a really good tow.

Naturally, David Nicholls has manipulated the far side to his considerable advantage. His horses have pretty much all been backed. Skybet report that trade money was lashed on to Valery Borsov earlier in the week. Nicholls himself nominated Buachaill Dona on The Morning Line. Markhab and Fol Hollow have also been backed this morning, while Sonny Red was the springer last night.

What about Jimmy Styles out of gate 22?

12.30pm
The sea mist has enveloped the track and brought with it a sad, dreary drizzle. We'll set up a Midday price watch. It started raining about five minutes ago. Henry Cecil's filly is currently trading at [4.9] for the Nassau Stakes. Watch her price drift out....

Midday:
Ed Hawkins, Betting.betfair's cricket writer, likes to quote Kipling. Not the cake guy, but the one who is consistently voted as one of England's greatest poets and writers.

Hawkins likes to trot out the line: "Treat those two imposters the same." That's the way to get through a five-day puntathon like this. Winners and losers mean nothing until the final tally. I've got seven races to squeeze out as much profit out of this meeting as I can.

We'll start with the Nassau Stakes, the thrilling Group 1 contest for fillies and mares won so controversially and brilliantly by Halfway To Heaven last year. The ground is currently riding as fast as at any point during the five-day meeting. Goingstick readings were 8.6 this morning, which matches that of Wednesday, so fans of Midday, Henry Cecil's fast-ground loving filly, should have no concerns for now.

The sea mist is drawing in the from the far side, however, and to use a line from Withnail And I, the sky is beginning to bruise. I certainly wouldn't have a bet on the Nassau until a lot later. And if you are already on, it's a weather thing, so I'll keep you posted.

I'd direct you to Hawkins' blog on this website, but as there is no play in the cricket at the moment, you might as well stay here.

11.45am
Good morning and welcome to the final day of the Glorious Goodwood racing blog. I'm back in the hot seat overlooking the wonderful Sussex Downs, although a water-coloured grey sky has been washed over the horizon.

I'm in a poetic mood. I dipped myself in the Channel again last night at Bracklesham Bay. I also have a secret. I didn't the night before, and it resulted in a catastrophic day's punting yesterday. I feel a lot fresher today and we're going to attack this afternoon's seven-race card with relish. E-mail me any juicy little bits of research that you have conducted and want to share. Make sure you get on first though. theriddleratbetfair@gmail.com

I felt pretty awful going home last night, close to betting penury. I was instantly uplifted though, in comparison to the ticket tout that I got a cab back with after racing.

He was a chipper fellow, and had travelled around the world providing those too lazy to organise themselves with an entrance into some of the greatest sporting occasions the world has witnessed. That said, the man related how he was sat over a sumptuous dinner in the Rome the evening before this year's Champions' League final between Manchester United and Barcelona.

I was there in Rome that night, and tickets were trading at around £1,200. Our heroic tout had 16 of these prime tickets, and was discounting them to £1000. A man walked in to the restaurant to ask if he had any going, and after a brief and polite conversation, he asked whether he could buy any. Our man obviously jumped at the chance to get rid of these tickets and was immediately apprehended by a one of Her Majesty's plain clothes policemen.

Unbelieveable luck. He got let off though, and when he was walking out of the police pen our man even had the nerve to ask whether he could take the tickets with him! Still, £16,000 down the drain. Ouch. I'm in a decent position when you look at it in that light.

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