Noble Champion - heads to Lennox

Qatar Goodwood Festival preview: Ed Walker Stable Tour

By Graham Clark

Horse Racing

Wed July 23, 2025 · 5M ago

By his own admission the Qatar Goodwood Festival has not been a happy hunting ground for Ed Walker, but he believes a change of luck could be around the corner.

As it stands the Lambourn handler only has one victory to his name at the meeting, which was secured by Red Gulch in his first full season in training back in 2011.

But the Group One winning handler is confident of adding to that tally after assembling a strong looking squad to represent him at the five-day meeting which gets underway on Tuesday.

And having saddled two winners at Royal Ascot last month Walker has every right to be optimistic of being among the winners at the Sussex track next week.

Walker said: “We have been flying along in the big races and we have got lots of very nice horses which have been turning up, which has been great, and that is the most important thing, but the bread and butter stuff has been a bit frustrating. However, you would far rather be winning the big races than not competing in them so I’m not complaining.

“It has not been very lucky for us, the Qatar Goodwood Festival, as we have only had the one winner there, and that was in my first full year training. I would say we would have eight or ten to take to Goodwood, which is a bigger number than normal, and that is great as we love Goodwood.”

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BALMORAL LADY (King George Qatar Stakes)

“She can go on anything, but she is better on softer ground. I think something like the Flying Five would really suit her. She ran a huge race at Ascot. Tom (Marquand) did the right thing tracking Believing thinking she would take her into the race, but Believing didn’t turn up and Tom was left in front on his own on the far side on ground that was plenty quick enough. It is so open the sprint division and I think she is not far off that standard and you have got to chance your arm."

CELANDINE (King George Qatar Stakes)

“If it is fast ground she will go to the King George. Celandine likes it like a road. It was her first run in a long time up at York last time out and she was a bit fresh in front. She got hassled all the way by Eve’s (Johnson Houghton) horse, Rage Of Bamby, which then won the Hackwood, and she just got a bit tired.

“She is in great nick and she has come out of it well. Five, or six furlongs, I don’t mind where we go with her and she will be aimed at all the big races throughout the rest of the season. She hasn’t run over five furlongs since the Molecomb last year, but she has got loads of speed so we are not worried about that. I think she is more likely to run. "

DO OR DO NOT (Coral Vintage Stakes)

“We are going to go for the Vintage Stakes. We thought we would have a look at Ascot (Pat Eddery Stakes), but that looks strong enough and Simon Sadler (owner) is very keen to go to Goodwood and it looks like he is crying out for seven furlongs so why not have a go. Simon has bought some expensive horses with big pedigrees and this guy was bought to be a fun two-year-old type and he is giving him a huge amount of fun and he is really very good. He deserves to win one of these really, whether that is at Goodwood we will see.

“It would be nice to see him go and win a race, but it would be just a waste of a run to win £3000 at Bath and be 1/20 and you never know you might still run into one and get beat. He is a good horse, and yes he hasn’t won a race, but he is more than capable of doing so. We will keep running him in good races and hopefully he will drop in one of them one day.

“We knew the July Stakes would be a very different test to Ascot. The stiff six at Ascot versus the sharp six at Newmarket, and it is sharp as people get confused about the July Course as if you walk it you are running down hill from almost six out. You are running down hill until the furlong pole and then you have the kick at the end which makes people think it is a stiff track, but it is really not, it is a fast track, and he couldn’t get on terms at any point until he hit that rising ground and he stayed on well. I think seven furlongs will really suit him and he should be able to jump and travel a bit better. He is a dude.”

ENGLISH OAK (Coral Chesterfield Cup Handicap/Coral Golden Mile)

“We could back him up quickly here. He has been incredibly disappointing this year, but he was much better up at Hamilton the other day. He has just become incredibly laid back. For a horse who had become quite keen and on it, he now barely picks up the bridle and it looks like he is crying out for further.

“The Qatar Goodwood Festival is incredibly important to Wathnan Racing so we might roll the dice with him. He seems to have come out of that race well. He is well handicapped. He got up to 108 last year. I’m not sure if he has been adjusted for Hamilton, and I’m sure he will go up a pound or two, as he was off 97 that day, but he won the Buckingham Palace off 99. He will be there or thereabouts. He will be on a winnable mark that is for sure.”

English Oak won easily in the Buckingham Palace Stakes

FORT GEORGE (Coral Kincsem Handicap)

“The horse that was second to him at Newmarket (Molveno) won the Italian Derby next time out. It was an extraordinary race at Goodwood last time when he fell out of the gates and was just being awkward. It was just a mess and he just got beat. That meant he was not high enough to get into the Britannia, which was the plan at the time, and Dr Jim Hay (owner) lives locally to Goodwood and he is a huge supporter of this meeting so we have wanted to protect his mark for this race. It has been a long wait, and he will be busy after Goodwood, but it has been the plan to target this.”

GOLDEN BROWN (Hawes & Curtis Nursery Handicap)

“He is a nice horse and this is the perfect race for him over a sharp six furlongs. We dropped him back to five furlongs at Newcastle and he ran really well. The winner of that race (Sands Of Spain) was third in the Super Sprint. We think he will be competitive in this. Straight after he got his mark we thought we would go for this then he is in all those sales races later in the year. We will be pot hunting with him. We have also gelded him since his last run, which he probably needed.”

NOBLE CHAMPION (HKJC World Pool Lennox Stakes)

“If the ground is decent he will go there as he is in flying form. York (City Of York Stakes) is obviously the main target for Noble Champion. If the ground is good or softer at Goodwood we would run Ten Bob Tony instead. I think from a bad experience there I was just thinking more into it. Kieran (Shoemark) has ridden him in work here since Ascot, and we have chatted about it. He rode him at Goodwood, and he is not worried about that slowly run mile conditions race he ran in there last time.

“It wasn’t a surprise at all really that he won the Jersey as he has always been an exceptionally good work horse at home. He kind of had his excuses in each race, but we felt everything was right at Ascot. If it didn’t work there, then was something amiss. It was either he was going to bolt up or he was going to be gelded and we go back to the drawing board. He is an exuberant, playful horse, but it was great everything came together. The set up of the race was ideal and I do worry about Goodwood. I don’t have the confidence of the set up like I did at Ascot.

"I just think he needs a real good strong even gallop which he got from Spy Chief at Ascot. The form of the Jersey has worked well as Spy Chief ran a solid race in the July Cup and he wasn’t beaten far. Noble Champion fairly thundered home at Ascot and we are buzzing about him. He is a very exciting horse and it is good we are back on track as it had been a very frustrating season with him up until then."

RIVER SPEY (British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Stakes)

“He was very disappointing up at Ayr. They got a bit of rain, which I don’t think suited him, but he has been gelded since then. Hopefully, on faster ground at Goodwood we will see a better horse.”

Scenic edges a York thriller

SCENIC (Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes)

“She ran a massive race at Haydock Park (Lancashire Oaks) and people don’t really give her the credit she deserves as it was a muddling race, but I would quite happily take on the winner again. We are very proud of her. I think she just stays a mile six. I don’t think she stayed the extended mile and six in the Park Hill on soft ground. I actually think she would run to a higher rating in a Yorkshire Oaks than a Lillie Langtry.

“She was so impressive in the Galtres Stakes at York last year over a mile-and-a-half. She was good in the Bronte Cup, but she came there looking like she was going to breeze past Term Of Endearment, and she didn’t.

"Whether that was the other filly being tough, and battling, or us running out of puff a little bit. I don't know. I think the easy nature of Goodwood, where you are running downhill quite a lot of that last half-a-mile, will be absolutely fine for her. I think she will be one of my best chances and I think this is absolutely ideal for her and it would be a big result for Wathnan Racing. I’m very excited about her.”

SIR LOWRY’S PASS (Coral Chesterfield Cup Handicap)

“He could go for the Chesterfield. He needs good ground or softer. I was very disappointed in the Old Newton Cup. He has never picked up the bridle in his life and for some reason he got a bit sort of colty and worked up behind the gates. He jumped and grabbed hold of the bit and was keen. Stepping up to a mile-and-a-half for the first time was not the right place to suddenly wake up.

"It was very unlike him and I think you can put a line through it. Normally he falls out of the gates and he needs to be pushed along, but he jumped and travelled, which is the complete opposite to what we wanted. He is getting older and wiser, and maybe just a bit sharper. He has won over ten furlongs around Goodwood so we know that won’t be an issue and we still think he is a well handicapped horse, but that was obviously a big blip.”