Autumn brings out the best in Alaadel
Back Alaadel @ 6/1 in the 15:25 Goodwood
Soft ground suits Alaadel well, all of his four wins and multiple placed form has come on either soft or heavy ground. He is also no stranger to Goodwood or this race, having won it in 2018. Add to that two of his last three wins came in October, the other in September, so this is certainly a time of year he seems to enjoy, Autumn is a good time to catch him. Stuart Williams' charge is a 1lb below his last winning mark and he has the services of Oisin Murphy in the plate, it seems that everything is in place for a bold showing from the seven-year-old.
The one I think might give him the most to do is The Lamplighter, not only is he a previous winner over course and distance but he is in good form and looking for a hat-trick. The handicapper has reacted by putting him up 5lb for his success last month but he may not have caught up with the George Baker runner just yet and there may still be further improvement to come.
We can Thank William Haggis for a winner at Goodwood
Back With Thanks @ 4/1 in the 14:55 Goodwood
This is a really interesting Listed race for fillies and the one I like is the William Haggis charge With Thanks, who only has three starts in her career to date. However, she won't have any fears over the ground as both of her wins have been on heavy ground. Initially she won on racecourse debut at Newmarket and more recently she went in again at Catterick which is a quirky track, so I expect Goodwood ought to suit her well.
There is no doubt that this is a big step up in class having only won in novice company last time but the Haggis team don't often get their placements that wrong and I am sure she will have more to offer.
Ralph Beckett enjoys this race and has saddled the winner for the last two renewals of this contest, this time he has a trio of representatives. Tomorrow's Dream has winning course form in the book but I think might struggle in these conditions. Another of his runners is the outsider of the field Helvezia who it would appear has plenty to do to get competitive. So his best chance, and the one that I think could chase home With Thanks, is Afraid Of Nothing.
I am sure along with Leafhopper, they will take them along and they may just burn up too much energy in the early part of the race, leaving the door wide open for With Thanks.