John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Tuesday.
Newmarket winners clash in Vintage Stakes
Charlie Appleby and Aidan O’Brien have both won the Vintage Stakes (14:25) more than once before and Godolphin and Ballydoyle go head-to-head in the first big race of the week at Goodwood with colts who won on the same day at Newmarket earlier in the month.
The form of both yards has been questioned at times this summer, but Appleby is firing again now, having the ‘Hot Trainer’ flag, and his representative Al Hudaiba boasts the best form following his win in the Superlative Stakes last time which earns him a 3 lb penalty to carry here. Whilst clearly talented, Al Hudaiba has his quirks too, jinking and unseating his rider when all set to win his second start and again looking far from straightforward at Newmarket last time when hanging badly to his left but just doing enough to defeat O’Brien’s odds-on favourite Abraham Lincoln by a short head.
William Buick’s job in keeping Al Hudaiba straight might be made easier by blinkers this time, and while he faces the Superlative third Pikachu again (the fourth and fifth took the first two places in the listed Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot last week), O’Brien takes on Al Hudaiba with Haffner instead. Runner-up to Abraham Lincoln on his debut, Haffner then went one better in the maiden on the July Cup card, travelling well in the lead and winning with a bit in hand from Al Hudaiba’s stablemate Al Wathba, earning the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag. Haffner is undoubtedly a good prospect, but Al Hudaiba sets a high standard and can keep his unbeaten record in completed starts.
Lake Forest can outdo course specialists in Lennox Stakes
The turns and undulations of Goodwood aren’t every horse’s cup of tea but two of the runners in the Lennox Stakes (15:00) have the ‘Horses For Courses’ flag after repeated good showings at the track. Qirat is unbeaten in three starts at Goodwood, memorably pulling off a huge shock at this meeting last year when holding on to win the Sussex Stakes in which he’d been the supposed pacemaker for odds-on favourite Field of Gold. That was over a mile, but he’s ideally suited by making the running over seven furlongs, as he showed in the Criterion Stakes at York last time and looks sure to make another bold showing.
Witness Stand goes well here too, finishing second to Qirat when trying to give him nearly a stone in a handicap at three, and pulling off a shock of his own, if not quite on the Qirat scale, when a 25/1 winner of this contest twelve months ago. He underperformed in a listed race at Chester last time, though a much better showing wouldn’t be a surprise here.
However, Qirat and Witness Stand may have to settle for place money behind last year’s runner-up Lake Forest who looks better still this year for William Haggas. He went on to finish a good second in the City of York Stakes last summer, with Qirat behind him, and while an Australian campaign proved one to forget in the autumn, he returned with a decisive win in a listed race at Haydock in May. Six furlongs was on the sharp side for him in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot last time, but he stayed on for fifth behind stablemate Almeraq and he heads the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings on his return to what is probably his optimum trip.
Little between Gold Cup principals in Goodwood Cup
Just a head separated Scandinavia and Trawlerman after two and a half miles of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot last month so the Goodwood Cup (15:35) will be a mouth-watering rematch between the top two stayers around who can’t be split on Timeform ratings.
At the age of eight, Trawlerman remains a high-class gelding for John & Thady Gosden, who have the ‘Hot Trainer’ flag, even though he couldn’t quite retain his Gold Cup title following a 243-day absence. It’s hard to suggest that the lack of a recent outing, due to an eye issue, cost him the race, however, as he gave his all, edged out only in the last fifty yards. He has given Goodwood a miss after contesting the last two Gold Cups, but he did win at this meeting on his only previous visit to the track prior to his Ebor win in 2022.
In Scandinavia, Trawlerman faces a rival half his age and with a tremendous record over the last twelve months or so which has seen him run up a sequence of six wins. That includes a defeat of shorter-priced stablemate Illinois in last year’s Goodwood Cup, as well as the St Leger, but his beating of Trawlerman at Ascot last month was his best effort yet after typically knuckling down to get the job done. He’s fancied to come out on top again, with Lazy Griff, a Sandown listed winner earlier in the month and wearing cheekpieces for the first time, the each-way selection with potentially more to offer as a stayer.
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