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Alan Kelly's Tips - Friday, 31 July
The Group 2 King George Qatar Stakes is the feature race on the fourth day of Glorious Goodwood, the 5f speed test due to get underway at 3:35pm.
3:35pm Goodwood - Time For Sandals (Each-Way)
This could be a good day for jockey Jamie Spencer, as along with our ante-post selection for the Golden Mile thirty five minutes earlier, I think he has an excellent chance in the day’s feature race courtesy of the Robert Cowell-trained Jakajaro.
The Too Darn Hot gelding has been in terrific form this season, winning handicaps at Newmarket and York before posting excellent efforts in Group company at Haydock, Ascot and the Curragh. I thought the five-year-old did particularly well to finish a close fifth of 26 behind Mission Central in the Group 1 King Charles 111 Stakes at the royal meeting.
However, in a wide-open renewal of this 5f speed test, odds of around 5/1 for Jakajaro make little appeal from a value perspective, also the case with the two horses heading the market, Night Raider and Rumstar. At the 16/1 currently available with most bookmakers, the vote goes to TIME FOR SANDALS (Each-Way) from the in-form Harry Eustace stable.
Kieran Shoemark’s mount has yet to recapture her best form of last season when winning Royal Ascot’s Group 1 Commonwealth Cup, before finishing a close third in this race after failing to get anything like a clear run. Not beaten far in Royal Ascot’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth 11 Jubilee Stakes on her most recent start, the daughter of Sands Of Mali will appreciate dropping back down to the minimum trip.
Recommendation: Time For Sandals (Each-Way) - 16/1 with William Hill (4 places)
4:45pm Goodwood - Sky Secret & Dubai Champion
Fifth of the 24 runners in Newbury’s valuable Weatherbys Super Sprint two weeks ago, Clive Cox’s SKY SECRET makes his handicap debut in this Class 2 nursery off what I think is a very favourable mark of 87. The son of A’Ali is clearly held in high regard by connections and is reunited with talented 3lb claimer Jack Nicholls, the pair successful in a Leicester maiden back in May.
Drawn in stall 8, I expect Sky Secret to improve for today’s extra furlong on a course like Goodwood. The other one I like is Ben Haslam’s DUBAI CHAMPION and I will back them both. The Persian Force colt opened his account at the third attempt when easily winning a Hamilton maiden last month, prior to which Ryan Moore’s mount had finished a close third at Ripon behind horses who would go on to finish 4th and 5th respectively in Royal Ascot’s Norfolk and Albany. An opening mark of 83 looks more than fair.
Recommendations: Sky Secret - 16/1 with bet365 & Dubai Champion - 5/1 with William Hill
5:55pm Goodwood - Room Fourteen (Nap)
A field of only 7 for Goodwood’s mile and a quarter finale on day 4 of the festival, 5 of which come from the classic generation. William Haggas’s daughter of Night Of Thunder, Silver Lake, won on her handicap debut at Salisbury earlier in the month, for which Saffie Osborne’s mount has been raised just 2lb. The grey is likely to be very popular in receipt of weight from all of her rivals.
Folk Pageant won races at Newmarket, Chester and Epsom earlier in the season but has struggled subsequently off higher marks, while Spinning Lizzie has failed to make an impact in better company since opening her account of Kempton’s all-weather surface back in March. Now 19lb higher than when winning at Windsor in May, Lady Dora Mae probably needs some respite from the handicapper before winning again.
After winning Class 4 handicaps at Redcar and Doncaster, I think James Fanshawe’s ROOM FOURTEEN (Nap) will have little trouble handling today’s higher grade, especially with jockey Ryan Moore taking over in the saddle for the first time.
Prior to those two victories, the Without Parole filly had finished an excellent second in a fillies’ handicap at Ascot, a race which has produced 5 subsequent winners, one of which, Nanino Niyati, was beaten a nose here on Tuesday. A revised mark of 83 will make life tougher for this progressive filly, who I think is more than up to the task. The best of the 2 older contenders is probably Andrew Balding’s Zgharta.
Recommendation: Room Fourteen (Nap) - 3/1 with bet365
Ante-Post: Coral Golden Mile (Goodwood, 31 July) - Tribal Chief (Each-Way)
Having selected the David Menuisier-trained Tribal Chief for Saturday's valuable Coral Challenge at Sandown, the race was pretty much over for Saffie Osborne's mount as the stalls opened, the five-year-old losing in the region of 8 lengths to his rivals in a race where it was almost impossible to win from such a position.
A fast finishing sixth, beaten three lengths, the son of Sioux Nation nevertheless ran a cracking trial for Goodwood's Coral Golden Mile later this month. Currently standing at number 46 for the £175k handicap on the Friday of the five-day festival, and with a maximum field of 20, the five-year-old will need a few to come out in order to make the cut.
Sixth in last year's race off a 2lb lower mark when beaten three lengths after being slowly away once again as a strongly-fancied 11/2 chance, TRIBAL CHIEF (Each-Way) will need to get his act together as the stalls open on the Sussex Downs, but following excellent efforts in both the Lincoln and Victoria Cup this season, the ante-post selection has a big handicap within him at some point.
Recommendation: Tribal Chief (Each-Way) - 16/1 with Betfred & Paddy Power (¼ odds, 1-2-3-4)
* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
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About Alan Kelly
A passionate follower of horse racing for over 50 years, Alan has enjoyed a 40-year career in the betting industry, 28 of which he spent running his betting shop as an owner/manager.
A successful punter with a keen eye for value, Alan has had many betting highlights, including a Scoop 6 win and has shown a consistent profit in the battle with bookmakers since joining Free Bets in 2008.
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