Glorious Goodwood: final day

today is the fifth and final day of the Glorious Goodwood meeting with another high class card, with the Group One Nassau Stakes for fillies and mares over 1 1/4 miles at 16.05 CET as the main feature. With 7 runners, this is an excellent race, with two strong French fillies in the line-up, Stacelita (Jean-Claude Rouget/ Christophe Soumillon) and the Aga Khan´s Rosanara (Alain de Royer-Dupré/ Gerald Mossé). Stacelita, who has a German pedigree, has only ever lost twice - in the "Arc" behind Sea the Stars and this year behind Goldikova - no disgrace there, but she would possibly prefer softer going. She was an easy winner last year on soft going of the Prix de Diane, in which Rosanara finished runner-up this time. Both are very dangerous but Henry Cecil´s Midday (Tom Queally) is the likely favourite; she won this race last year and also took the Breeders Cup Fillies and Mare Turf. The likely fast ground should play to the strengths of front-runner Barshiba (David Elsworth/ Hay ley Turner), moving up in grade after winning the Lancashire Oaks last time, while ex-German Antara (Saeed bin Suroor/ Frankie Dettori) should also go well, but looks held on Royal Ascot form by Strawberry Daiquiri (Sir Michael Stoute/ Ryan Moore). A fascinating race, but probably one to watch rather than to to bet on.
The big betting race - not only of today but of the whole meeting - is the Stewards Cup, a 6 furlongs handicap at 16.40 with 28 runners and a ferociously difficult race to sort out. Many of the horses have run repeatedly against each other and luck in running is always the deciding factor. The draw could also be significant, and history suggests that middle to high numbers have an advantage, so we shall ignore any horse drawn less than 12 (although top-weight Knot in Wood(Richard Fahey/ Barry McHugh), who has run well in this event for the last 3 years, should never be underestimated).
Genki (Roger Charlton/ Steve Drowne) won this race last year and is well drawn in 25, but from a handicapping point of view faces a tougher task this time. We would prefer at the likely odds the stable´s other runner Run for the Hills (Hayley Turner). David Nicholls, a specialist for these big sprints, has 3 runners, of which we prefer Evens and Odds (Billy Cray), while Richard Fahey has 5, of whom we like Prime Exhibit (Dean Swift) best. Kevin Ryan, another specialist, saddles 3 and we like his daughter Amy´s mount Advanced best of these. Tom Dascome´s pair Noverre to Go (Richard Kingscote) and Johnny Mudball (Seb Sanders) must also be considered. Sir Michael Stoute, who rarely has runners in sprint handicaps, saddles Enact (Ryan Moore) and he must come on to the short list. However our main fancies are Rileyskeepingfaith (Mick Channon/ Richard Hughes) and Palace Moon (William Knight/ Kieren Fallon), runner-up last time over 7 furlongs at Newmarket and possibly better suite d by this trip.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Wadnaan - Rock N Roll Ransom - Valiant Knight
2. Race: Sea Lord - Treadwell - Desert Myth
3. Race: Midday - Stacelita - Rosanara
4. Race: Genki - Enact - Palace Moon
5. Race: Captain Bertie - Pausanias - The Mongoose
6. Race: Eucharist - Majestic Myles - Bahamian Sunset
7. Race: Truism - Peponi - Kilburn