Tomorrow is the final day of Glorious Goodwood but I'm in no position to comment on how glorious Goodwood has been so far, primarily because, as I'm not a member of the landed gentry, I haven't seen any of the past four days' racing. Once upon a time I did have this plan to win a shedload of money betting the horses which would have enabled me to live the life of a member of the landed gentry but that particular dream, along with my other naive hopes and desires, was quashed by the harsh banal reality of everyday life some thirty odd years ago.
Seven go in the Nassau at 3.05 in which last year's winner Midday looks the one they have to beat, with the strongest challenge likely to come from French fillies Stacelita and Rosanara; Stacelita has yet to race on going this quick. Henry Cecil's stable jock Tom Queally appears confident enough this evening. Game one-eyed mare Barshiba can be counted on to run her race but is likely to find one or two too good in this Group One - she finished fourth behind Midday in this last year when the going was soft and the sea fret proved rather troublesome to some members of the landed gentry in the stands. Midday is the selection.
A tentative suggestion in the wide-open cavalry charge that is the Stewards' Cup with twenty eight set to face the starter... The stats appear to show that middle to high drawn horses are favoured; the result of today's Rolf Group Stewards' Handciap (for those beasts that missed the cut for tomorrow's event) confirms the suspicions with the winner coming from stall fourteen and only one of the first seven home boasting a single-figure berth - that horse was Tiddliwinks who looked unlucky in running and might be worth noting for another day. Of the market leaders Genki and Palace Moon have enough weight while Enact comes from Sir Michael Stoute's yard which is just a little in and out at the moment. Tom Dascombe's pair will attract plenty of support with stable jock Richard Kingscote on Noverre To Go while the other one Jonny Mudball is part-owned by footballer Jonathan Woodgate. Talking of football ex-footballer now trainer Mick Channon saddles Rileyskeepingfaith who was just beaten a neck at Haydock the last time and has been well tipped up in this week's Weekender. Four and five year olds have a good record in this so I'll take a small each-way interest in Hitchens who is drawn right up against the far rail and comes to this fresher than most. He was doing his best work towards the end in last week's Sky Bet Dash at York where he finished seventh of twenty; that should have put him spot on. He rates a sporting each-way chance and is priced up at 25/1 with Sky Bet, who also happen to be paying a quarter the odds five places.
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In the end Midday (15/8f) took the Nassau decisively but not without giving her supporters a fright or two along the way. Barshiba set a muddling pace with the result that it became a dash for the line up the home straight. Tom Queally sent the eventual winner on two out and she quickly put three lengths between herself and the rest of the field. However she idled alarmingly as they raced inside the final furlong and was briefly headed by Stacelita (9/2) before going on again to win by one and a quarter lengths. Connections have the Yorkshire Oaks as the next target but it is worth noting that as she has grown older, so has her dislike of fast going; had the ground been too firm here she would have been withdrawn.
In the Stewards' Cup the Dandy Nicholls trained Evens And Odds, second last year, went one better this time around, catching Jonny Mudball (14/1) in the shadow of the post to win at odds of 20/1. Selection Hitchens (20/1) raced just behind the leaders on the far side but weakened inside the final furlong ot finish fourteenth of the twenty eight runners.
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