Nic Doggett provides an overview of the key things to note on Friday.
Fillies in focus at Goodwood
How do you know you can/can't do something before you try?
I find myself repeatedly trying to drum that into my kids each time they whinge about doing anything, but perhaps I should turn that question around and apply it to the British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies' Novice Stakes (14:32) at Goodwood on Friday afternoon.
Horse/trainer/jockey form
Tactics
Training methods
Ground
Pedigree
Five aspects of what often feels like a million to consider each time we look at a race, each with their own merits, each not worth relying on alone. The Timeform racecard covers most of those bases, though a bit more digging is needed to glean a nugget from the pedigrees.
And that’s where I come in, more monkey than organ grinder after all.
While plenty clearly comes from how well balanced a young horse is - and we don’t know how much they might take from sire/dam - the nature of the unique sprint track at Goodwood often tests two-year-olds in ways which suggests that the scales can sometimes be more in favour of nature rather than nurture.
Babzini, who shaped with promise when third to subsequent listed-placed Lover Girl on debut at Salisbury, is the first foal of Narak who showed plenty of dash to run well at Catterick, Lingfield and Yarmouth, but all of those came over at least seven furlongs.
Hala Hala Hala, dam of newcomer Fast Track, won on debut at Thirsk, albeit over six furlongs, while Blushrose and Kentucky Rain’s dams were both unraced but the last-named is a half-sister to Son Of Corballis who won two of her first three starts over the minimum trip at a sharp Tipperary.
Lazurite’s dam Fig Roll has wins at Salisbury and Newmarket on her CV, but her best progeny, Al Raya and Hallasan, both failed to fire (at a high level) at Goodwood. Salisbury, Windsor and Newmarket, meanwhile, make up the six-furlong wins of Pershaada’s dam Mild Illusion.
HQ winner Magic Effort’s dam Muhadathat was a sharp juvenile, and had two wins under her belt before finishing fourth to Kachy in a Group 3 over C&D. She was also an unlucky third in a handicap at the following season’s Glorious Goodwood.
Magic Effort's own success has been handsomely franked, most notably by the third and fifth who have won since, but her supporters will be hoping that she doesn’t take after her first-season-sire Good Effort who was beaten a total of 50 lengths in two starts at the track.
Of the other sires to have raced here, Blue Point (Lazurite and Targa) was second to Mehmas in the Richmond, faring better than Caturra (Lola) who was last of seven in the 2021 renewal of that race but a creditable third in the King George Stakes a year later.
The conclusion? Much like parenting, I’m more confused than when I started.
Burke key to Festival Stakes once more
The feature race at Goodwood is the Fitzdares Festival Stakes at 16:17, a race won last year by the Karl Burke-trained Liberty Lane for Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum. The Middleham trainer may hold the key once more as he saddles Ice Max and Boiling Point in the now-late owner’s colours, with both holding leading claims.
Ice Max is penalised for a Nottingham listed win last October, but his record here is strong, winning the Celebration Mile in 2024 before an unlucky-in-running fifth behind Jonquil a year later.
Boiling Point, meanwhile, produced a career-best performance when winning the Cambridgeshire off top-weight in the autumn, a month after going down by a head in the Group 3 Strensall Stakes at York. He is clear on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings.
Wolferton winner Haatem, who also has a success in the Vintage Stakes here to his name, is another with a touch of class, and he’s won first-time-out before, while connections will be hoping that trend continues for the returning Enfjaar who has twice won after breaks of more than 220 days.
With race fitness on his side, disappointing Lincoln favourite La Botte chances his arm at a new trip, for all it doesn’t look certain to suit on pedigree.
Like Ice Max, a penalty makes life tougher for Naqeeb, but he shaped as if needing the run over a mile at Ascot last time and should be more competitive today. At the prices, he might be the one who is overpriced, though there’s a nagging feeling that he might not be able to produce his best until his listed penalty expires.
Friday night (high)lights
Worcester’s Friday evening card could be worth staying in for (or going out to), with a number of interesting runners including the well-bred Country Park who makes his chasing debut in the Safer Gambling At CopyBet Handicap Chase (17:32) after a frustrating spell over hurdles, and Closing Time, who makes his bumper debut (18:06) as Nico De Boinville’s only ride on the card.
Obviously, it wouldn’t be a jumps meeting without the Skelton Bros. having a number of well-fancied runners, which includes Ice Jet who bids for a quickfire hat-trick at 20:11.
They also have four-year-old ‘Horse In Focus’ Playful Fox in the following Read Johnny Burke's Blog At CopyBet Handicap Hurdle (20:41), but the market may prove very informative as he’s up against We Ain’t Walking.
Unsurprisingly, he has the ‘Trainer/Jockey Uplift’ flags having switched to James Owen, and this seven-year-old from the family of Vautour is much respected on his return from 592 days off the track.
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