Ralph Beckett - expecting to have around 15 runners at Goodwood

Qatar Goodwood Fetstival preview: Ralph Beckett stable tour

By Graham Clark

Horse Racing

Tue July 22, 2025 · 5M ago

From Kinross to a couple of exciting two-year-olds, Ralph Beckett talks Graham Clark through his team for the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

Ralph Beckett already has plenty of fond memories of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, but he remains eager to create more memorable moments at the five-day meeting this time around.

Group One entries might be thin on the ground for the Classic-winning trainer, however he is assembling a team many other trainers could only wish to have at their disposal.

Flying the flag for the Kimpton Down Stables will be stable stalwart Kinross, who, at the age of eight, will bid for a third success in the Group Two HKJC World Pool Lennox Stakes.

And with the Marcstown Ltd-owned gelding set to be joined at the Sussex track by a host of youngsters and intriguing handicap contenders it all points to another fascinating few days for Beckett and his team.

He said: "It could be anything between 15 and 25 runners that we take to Goodwood this year, but we will see how that develops. At this stage I would imagine at it would be closer to 15. I suppose the team would be on par with those in seasons gone by. Hopefully we can find a winner or two amongst those that we are sending there."

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ALLONSY (Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes)

“I was delighted with her run in the Pontefract Castle Stakes. I actually fancied our other filly in the race, Meribella, more, but I think she enjoys turning tracks. I think Goodwood will suit her really well. Whether she is up to winning this is another thing entirely. However, she will stay and it is a track that will suit her. I don’t think ground is really a factor for her as it was fast at Pontefract and she has won on soft ground.

“I got her beaten off 65 and 68, when she should have won at Sandown last year, but we then put the cheekpieces on her and she went on a roll. As her mother Alyssa did she started off at a low level and climbed the ladder so it is great she is doing the same.”

CAPE ORATOR (Coral Vintage Stakes)

“He will have an entry in the Vintage Stakes, but he could run in a novice contest at Sandown Park the following day. He is a talented horse, but he is quite an immature individual. Mentally, things need to be on his side at the moment, but he will come around for it. It is not so much how he would handle the occasion, but more so is he ready for a test like the Vintage. That is what we have got to decide. If it is not now he is running at this level I hope he is further down the track.”

CONSOLIDATION (The World Pool Bet With The tote Handicap/Whispering Angel Handicap)

“He likes Goodwood. He has run well there twice and he did it well the last day he went there to get up on the line. It makes sense to send him back there. I think the way he had to be ridden in the Britannia didn’t suit him, but that is nothing to do with James Doyle, it is just the way he had to be ridden. I think Goodwood will set up much better for him.”

DASH OF AZURE (Ridgeview Fillies’ Handicap)

“The plan is to go for the mile fillies’ handicap. I thought she was a little keen early on in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot, but I think she is better going around a bend. I’m not sure that a straight track suits her as well. This race fits her well. She was drawn on the wrong side at Ascot, as was Tabiti, but that is academic. I think you can mark that effort up though, especially as she was keen early, and I think Goodwood will suit her really well.”

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EGOLI (Markel Richmond Stakes)

“He could go for the Richmond Stakes. We will see how he has taken his win at Newbury on Saturday and go from there. He was in the Rose Bowl at Newbury, but I wasn’t hung up on that and I thought that was early for him in the piece and thankfully his owner agreed and they were keen to see him win again, which he did under a penalty which was great. He is a heavy shouldered horse and I do have to think whether the track at Goodwood will suit him, but he will have an entry in the Richmond. I think York clearly suited him really well when he won his maiden and there is also the Gimcrack later on for him.”

FAIR POINT (Oak Tree Stakes)

“She will go to the Oak Tree Stakes only if the ground is right as she has to have juice in the ground, as does Stop The Cavalry. She is very easy to read as you can’t run her on quicker than good. If you do that she will turn up every time. I thought it was a good effort in the Listed race at Chelmsford last time out when she finished second behind an all-weather specialist of James Tate’s (Cloud Cover)."

KINROSS (HKJC World Pool Lennox Stakes)

“He would be the flagbearer for us at this year’s meeting. He loves the Lennox Stakes having won it twice before. He should have really won it three times, but he got stuck down on the rail when Sandrine won it. The weather hasn’t landed right for him since his comeback at Haydock Park and this is a good spot for him. It is what he should be aiming at. He never ceases to surprise me. I didn’t think he would run like he did at Haydock Park. I thought he would run well but Timeform gave him his equal highest ever mark. Whether you agree with it, or not, it is an objective view. He retains all of his enthusiasm, and that is three-quarters of it, and hopefully he can go and win it again."

MISS CARTESIAN (The World Pool Bet With The tote EBF Fillies’ Handicap)

“She could possibly drop back in trip and go for the six furlong fillies’ handicap. I thought it was a good effort last time at Newmarket over seven furlongs. I’ve a feeling though that seven furlongs might just suit her better. Physically she has a few crosses to bear, but in every other sense she is straightforward.”

MR CHAPLIN (The World Pool Bet With The tote Handicap/Whispering Angel Handicap)

“The plan is to take Mr Chaplin back to Goodwood for one of the seven furlong handicaps there. We gelded him, but I don’t think he was right in the spring. I thought it was a fair enough effort in the Britannia over a mile. He seems to be in better shape now and we know he goes well over course and distance.”

OXFORD COMMA (Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes)

“It would be quite punchy to come back in a race like this, but for her it is all about the ground. She has to have soft ground so my hands are tied until that happens. She has been fine, but we have had to just wait with. There would be no issues with her stamina if she runs as we know she stays well."

PALMAR BAY (The World Pool Bet With The tote Handicap)

“He could run in the 0-95 seven furlong handicap. I think Goodwood as a track will suit him well. He was good at Chelmsford on his penultimate start and I felt I ran him too quickly back at York when he finished sixth. It looked a tempting race, and York, as a track suits him well, so that is why I was keen to run him, but it was hard on him. He has had an easy time since then, and he worked well last week. He should go well there with a chance.”

Kinross - fine record at Goodwood

QIRAT (Coral Golden Mile)

“He won a couple of nice races last year and he was done on the line in the Victoria Cup at Ascot on his return to action this year. Ascot didn’t work out for him last time in the Royal Hunt Cup when he had the blinkers on for the first time, and we decided to duck the International back there, but he has always run well at Goodwood. The way the races are run at Goodwood really suit him. Hopefully the Golden Mile will set up well for him and he is in good form."

SAQQARA SANDS (HKJC World Pool Lennox Stakes/Oak Tree Stakes)

"The Oak Tree looks like the obvious spot for her. I’m not sure about a mile for her. She got the stiff seven at Carlisle well in the Eternal Stakes, so you would think a mile would be within her reach in the Valiant Stakes at Ascot on Saturday. She will have an entry in that and the Oak Tree Stakes, but I’m tempted to not to change it for the sake of it and stick to seven furlongs for this time. If she shouts need a mile we can then go up to it so I’m probably going to go Goodwood with her. I’m not hung up about the ground with her. The form book suggests she needs some juice, but it is not a pedigree that says we need soft ground, but the form book doesn’t lie."

SIR DINADAN (HKJC World Pool Gordon Stakes)

“It is possible he could run in the Gordon Stakes. I’m not hung up about that as he had a hard race at the Curragh in the Irish Derby. He went out on his shield really as he was the only one to put it up to Lambourn really through the race. He just ran out of steam the last 100 yards. He will work this week and we will see how he is on the back of that."

STOP THE CAVALRY (Oak Tree Stakes)

“If the ground is on her side she will go for the Oak Tree, but she needs give in the ground. She ran well in the race last year when she was sixth. It was a typical Oak Tree where they were all over the joint, but I thought it was a good effort.”

TABITI (Oak Tree Stakes)

“She is in the Valiant Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, but she could well have an entry for the Oak Tree as well. She will go for one or the other. It was a good run off a big weight in the Sandringham on what was her first start since finishing fifth in the Fillies’ Mile as she was drawn on the wrong side. She is a talented filly and hopefully she will come forward for that run in whichever race we decided to take in with her stepping up in class again.”

VICTORIOUS ONE (Phase Eight Nursery Handicap)

"He could end up going for the seven furlong nursery. If you watch the head on from his last start at Epsom Downs he ducked down into the rail and gave it away, which was frustrating. I think he will be rated mid to high eighties, but we will find that out on Tuesday. If he is given a good mark then he should be competitive. We will definitely be keeping the blinkers on."

ZOUM ZOUM (Coral Stewards’ Cup)

“He is in at both York and Ascot, in the International, this weekend. He needs give in the ground for six furlongs in my opinion. I know it didn’t work out for him at the Royal meeting in the Wokingham, but I think the course suits him well. On fast ground over seven furlongs he will be better suited in the International as opposed to waiting for the Stewards' Cup. However, he will work on Tuesday and that will lean me in the direction in which I go with him."