Straight From The Trainers Mouth 4/8/12

Straight From The Trainers Mouth

Roger Varian

2:40 Shubaat

I don't think Shubaat has stayed in his last two races so I am looking forward to running him back at 1m6f. He seems in good order and is getting weight from a number of the other runners.
3:15 Nahrain 7/2
She was a bit rusty at Ascot but seems to have come on a lot for the run. She has really come to herself and looks in great condition. Her work has been very good and we are hoping for a good run from her.

Nahrain

Brian Meehan
CATFISH (Goodwood 2.05 p.m.) Speedy filly was hampered at the start and did not get going until too late at Ascot (5f) last week. She did well to be beaten only three lengths and as a winner at the fixture last year, will have her chance if avoiding trouble.
SECULAR SOCIETY (Doncaster 2.15 p.m.) Royal Applause gelding has been working nicely, but is expected to be better for the experience.
MISSISSIPPI (Newmarket 2.20 p.m.) Looked a smart performer on his Kempton reappearance success, but struggled in two subsequent runs. Has been freshened for this and holds each-way claims if showing his best form.

Luca Cumani

2:40 Franciscan

It looks a very tight affair, draw 12 isn’t the best and ideally we’d have liked to run him again at a mile and a half, but there haven’t been any suitable races. His intended target is the Ebor, so at least this race should tell us whether he is up to that level (and he needs a penalty to get in) as well as whether the trip will be suitable.

Richard Hannon

2:05 Poole Harbour 14/1

Hughesie felt that Poole Harbour did not quite stay the stiff six (furlongs) at Ascot last time, so this easier track should suit him well in the opening race at Goodwood.

4:30

We run three in the 7f maiden, and Wentworth is a very nice Acclamation colt, who we have taken our time with as we think he could be smart. The Gatling Boy is a Tamayuz colt and Colmar Kid has the experience and is drawn best of the three.

5:05

Dominate 3/1, who ran in the Molecomb here on Tuesday, pulls out again for the nursery, and it looked as if this extra furlong was just what he wanted. He should go well, while Dansili Dual 7/1 ran well in a nursery at Ascot last week and has come out of the race well so goes again.

2:20 Newmarket – Usain Colt 9/2

Usain Colt would be an appropriate winner now that the athletics have started in the Olympics, and he runs in the 7f handicap up there. His close fifth at Sandown last time looks pretty good after the winner went in again at Goodwood yesterday.

2:55 Newmarket

Califante  10/1 won as we thought he would at Windsor and is on a fair mark for his first handicap, and, while Rebel Magic 14/1 went up 3lb for being a beaten favourite at Ascot last time, he looks to have a good draw with the stalls on the far side.

William Buick

the hardest call I’ve had to make is choosing IZZI TOP (3.15) over The Fugee in the Group One Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on Saturday. When you ride for a team like Clarehaven this situation is always going to crop up and I suppose the time to worry is when you don’t have horses that cause you the odd sleepless night.I can ask the boss, John Gosden, or any number of people whose opinion I respect but in the end it’s down to me. The problem is that I do think they’ll probably finish first and second but I don’t know in which order. The Fugue is a filly that I’ve loved from day one and she’s probably been one of the unluckiest around this season as I’m convinced she’d have won the Oaks if she hadn’t been flattened early in the race and lost her position and momentum. If she’d have won that then she probably wouldn’t have gone to Royal Ascot where she was beaten by Princess Highway on softish ground that wasn’t in her favour. That would mean that I’ve overlooked an Oaks and easy Musidora winner in a race run over her ideal trip of around ten furlongs on ground that’s going to suit her much better.And there’s the weight for age scale that helps three-year-olds at this time of year too. So you may well wonder why I’ve nominated Izzi Top. It’s just that I think she’s a filly that’s right at the top of her came and has won all her three races this season with plenty of authority over Saturday’s trip. Quite frankly, I don’t know how good she is because she’s just answered any question I’ve asked her this season. She’s done it on a variety of going, good, good to soft and very soft in Ireland last time when she blew away Sapphire in the Pretty Polly Stakes. She’s very straight forward to ride and I just couldn’t overlook her, simple as that. I’m just glad that Great Heavens isn’t in the field as well!

I’m on ONELADYOWNER (2.05) for David Brown in the Stewards' Cup consolation race which opens the card and this colt isn’t without a chance. He was literally nosed out over course and distance the only other time I’ve ridden him at the end of May and the ground may have been faster than he likes when he was beaten at Windsor last time. We’re drawn towards the middle so I’ve got options where to go so I’m hopeful of a forward showing as he does have plenty of pace.

Amanda Perret loves to get a winner at her local track and there’s a good chance I can supply her with one on LIFE AND SOUL (2.40) in the mile and six handicap. He’s a horse that seems to like the twists of this course because his last two runs have been here and he won the first of them gamely over a mile and a half and then  just failed over Saturday’s  extra two furlongs.His running style is uncomplicated and so I’ll be able to get a good position and hold on to it. It’s a question for how long but I definitely see us as players in this.

The Stewards' Cup will be the first time that I’ve sat on SWISS CROSS (3.55), trained by Phil McEntee and we couldn’t have a harder race to team up in. All I know is what I’ve seen on his form page and I like the fact that the last time he won was over six at Brighton and Epsom on fast-ish ground in May and June last season, both undulating tracks like Goodwood. He has been to 97 but is now only 2lb higher than his winning mark so I’m hopeful of a solid show - but with 26 up against us I can’t say any more than that.Of the others, I was impressed with Dungannon when we were fifth in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot and I’d pick him as a danger to everything.

There are some well-bred youngsters in the seven furlong maiden where I ride HOARDING (4.30) for the boss. I didn’t ride him on his debut when he was third at Newmarket at the end of June but our horses usually learn a lot from their first start - look at Blessington on Tuesday.It’s hard to know what we’ll be up against but of those with form the Godolphin runner Improvisation looks the biggest problem and Richard Hannon has three declared including one that’s unraced and will be ridden by Hughsie.

Hayley Turner

2:05 Fair Value 18/1

I ride Fair Value, who I haven’t sat on before, in the opening Stewards’ Sprint for Simon Dow. She won very nicely at Epsom last time. She looks like she appreciates downhill tracks so Goodwood should really suit, and she’s another filly who could run well at a nice price.

2:40 The Betchworth Kid 16/1

I’m back on one of my old favourites, The Betchworth Kid, on whom I won a Listed race at Nottingham last year, and he also gave me a good run in that season’s Ascot Gold Cup. He’s a horse who takes some knowing and I like to think I have a good relationship with him - I finished third back on him at York in June – and hopefully we can make the frame at nice odds in the one mile and three-quarters handicap.

3:55 Esprit De Midas 40/1

I ride one of the outsiders, Esprit De Midas, for Dean Ivory. He’s a horse who I’ve never sat on before but he has seven wins to his name and has run well in big fields before. This shorter six furlongs looks like it might be in his favour, as does any cut in the ground. He’s a long shot, but Dean is an expert at training these types so hopefully he can give me a good run in one of the highlights of the year.

Ryan Moore

14:40 Goodwood - Roxy Flyer
She won twice over 1m3f here as a 3yo and was highly tried on occasions last season, such as when sixth in the Lillie Langtry at this meeting. I rode her when she was just touched off in a listed race at Lingfield on her final start and she reappeared to finish a decent second over 1m4f at Kempton last month. Looks fairly enough treated off a mark of 95, and you would have to give her a decent chance in this competitive race.

15:15 Goodwood - Was
This looks a proper Group 1 race. John Gosden looks to hold a really strong hand here with Pretty Polly winner Izzi Top and Musidora winner The Fugue. Izzi Top will have much different conditions than when winning on heavy ground at the Curragh but she has form on fast ground, while everyone will be expecting good ground and a step back in trip to see The Fugue be a major player here. And you must also respect Nahrain on her Group 1 winning form of last season, and this longer trip will suit her better than a mile did in the Windsor Forest. But I also quite like my chances on Was, even though she is likely to be fourth best in the betting. She impressed me when beating The Fugue in the Oaks, both in the paddock beforehand and the race itself, and she wouldn't have been suited by the testing conditions in the Irish Oaks last time. It was her tactical speed in a steadily run race that arguably won her the race at Epsom, so I am hoping the step back in trip is not a negative. I think Izzi Top is probably the one to beat but this could be a messy, tactical race.

15.55 Goodwood - Mac's Power
I would have thought that he would be one of the market leaders here, but this is the Stewards' Cup, so you can only be hopeful, not confident. But he looks to have as good as claims as most going into the race. He finished third to Hoof It off a higher mark in this race last season and comes into this in good form, having just got touched off by Shropshire at Ascot last time, where I rode him. Hopefully, this is his day but the faster the better for him.

16:30 Goodwood - Anjuna Beach
I ride this newcomer for my dad, who has a decent strike rate with his juveniles this season, including a first time out winner in Dutch Masterpiece, who runs in the nursery. He is a nice colt who will hopefully acquit himself well. But he looks to have his work well and truly cut out as this maiden has attracted some smart looking sorts in the shape of Newmarket runner-up Improvisation and Haydock second Steeler, as well as a well-fancied and Group 1-entered Hannon newcomer in Wentworth. And that is to name just three. If he finishes in midfield, he will probably have run very well.

17:05 Goodwood - Dutch Masterpie
He was withdrawn when bolting before his intended debut at Lingfield, but I wouldn't read anything into that as he was just spooked. He is a nice, professional juvenile and he showed by winning by 2 1/4 lengths at Southwell that he has talent, too. But a mark of 80 looks stiff enough on the bare form, given the runner-up there had finished last the time before and is clearly only very moderate. But he did it nicely at Southwell, travelling well throughout the race, and as a once-raced maiden winner you would hope that he could progress enough to be competitive. Even though he could be better handicapped on what he has shown, I'd be hopeful of a good showing. I rode Dominate to finish sixth here on Tuesday and I would say he is well treated and the one to beat.