Andrea Atzeni: Goodwood Day 1 Preview
Lord Riddiford – 13:40 Goodwood
I start the week with a good chance, you want to be against the rail on the sprint course. He’s got good course and distance form having won at the track three times before, I think he’s back on a handy mark, he’s won on soft ground, and I think he’s got a very good chance. He’s a horse that drops in, so we will need some luck in running but course form around here is worth a lot.
Outbreak – 14:50 Goodwood
You always need a lot of luck in running on the round course at this track, especially in these big field handicaps, the only thing I would say is that with the ground on the soft side it’s likely they will come up the middle to stands’ side, which opens the race up a bit more. On faster ground they all stick against the far rail, it can get messy, and you need a lot of luck in running. I think Outbreak is a better horse on top of the ground so there has to be a slight question about the soft ground, I don’t know how he’s going to handle it. But he’s a solid horse and he was impressive at Newmarket when he won earlier in the season. If he turns up in good form he can be competitive, but I’m just not sure about the ground.
Giavellotto – 16:35 Goodwood
This was always the plan; we missed the Gold Cup at Ascot because Marco didn’t think he would stay the extra distance. This race has come up very strong though with the horses from Ascot. He is a horse that wouldn’t want extremes of ground, he wouldn’t want it firm, and he wouldn’t want it particularly soft, but I think he goes on pretty much any other ground. Ideally, we’d want the ground to dry up a little, but if anything, the soft ground could be more against the favourite Courage Mon Ami. I think Coltrane is more solid, he could be the one to beat dropping back to 2 miles. My horse ran well in the Leger last year and won well at York at the Dante meeting and it would be nice to finish in the first three here. His homework is very good, he’s improved since York, which he needs to, but there will be some good pace in the race from Quickthorn and others, so hopefully I can get him to relax and finish his race off strongly.
Rajindri – 17:05 Goodwood
She won the last day at Yarmouth, she goes in the ground, she’s got a light weight and would have a chance in a competitive race. She’s very consistent but it’s a tight race. The form of her maiden at Beverley looks strong now with the winner having won again since.
Have a good day,
Andrea
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