Goodwood selections Saturday 1st August
The final day at Goodwood and the prevailing fast ground will very much remain for a day where the Stewards Cup will take centre stage. I have two selections for the feature, plus selections from two other races on the card.
Goodwood 1.50: Aeronautic & Sing Us A Song
Favourites have been doing well all week at Goodwood and it would be no surprise to see Valedictory justify short odds here. However he has quite a round action and might not appreciate ground quite so quick. Therefore I am taking him on with two viable alternatives.
AERONAUTIC finished third in this race last season, despite racing too keenly, and with another years experience behind him I expect him to settle that bit better here to enable him to win today. He is yet to win in handicap company, but he is becoming ultra consistent and ran well again when fourth at Royal Ascot over this 14f despite having a jockey in John Velazquez lacking in experience in that type of race.
Dylan Browne Mcmonagle is back on board today and this horse enjoys the fast ground he will face today. He was also placed at the Irish Champions Weekend at Leopardstown last autumn. This track should play to his strengths as he likes to race prominently and has a handy low draw for the short run into the first turn.
SING US A SONG used to spoil his chances with slow starts, but seems to have put that behind him in recent races. As such he is now the sort of horse comfortable with racing up with the pace, again an advantage around here. He was fifth in that same race behind Aeronautic at Ascot, where he was again in the van throughout.
Prior to that he was a good second at York, despite facing competition for the lead. He too has a useful inside draw to take a good early position, and with the Wathnan team going so strongly this week, he could prove very solid each-way.
Goodwood 3.35: Two Tribes & Far Above Dream
TWO TRIBES was a brilliant winner of this race off 7lbs lower last year and he looks the obvious one to go with in a bid for a repeat success.
After some solid but unspectacular performances in early season in 2025, he suddenly came good at this time last year, winning the big 7f handicap at Ascot seven days before storming to victory here. This season has followed a similar pattern.
Only in mid-division on his return to domestic racing in the Wokingham at the Royal meeting, he produced a strong finishing effort to be second in that same 7f handicap at Ascot last week. He was probably not favoured by an unusually slow gallop in that race, but will certainly be getting a strong end to end gallop to race off today. David Egan gets on so well with the gelding and is back on board today.
FAR ABOVE DREAM ran a cracker to be fourth in the Wokingham and might just find this sharper track at Goodwood more to his liking. He travelled so smoothly at Ascot, before finding a few finishing too strongly, but on this largely downland track, that early cruising speed can be used to much greater effect.
He had won three in a row prior to that Ascot race, two of which were on good ground here, taking his track record to 3-3. The only question might be very quick going, but he coped admirably with that at Ascot and he can race off the same mark of 99 today, which could still be generous.
Goodwood 4.10: Proud Nation
Whilst favourites have been doing well all week, it might pay to have a little wager on an outside in PROUD NATION in this contest.
Apart from one modest effort on softish ground at Chester earlier this year, he has been the model of consistency. He got off the mark on only his second start in a decent with some very useful types in behind. He looks like a 7f specialist as he appeared to stay the extended mile at Hamilton on his return.
Then came that modest effort at Chester, but he bounced right back to form at Newmarket last month when just touched off by Ironwill. He battle on gamely to the line that day and I fancy a stronger gallop and bigger field will be more to his advantage today. A wide draw is not ideal, but draw advantage is not as obvious this week on the round course, so can be overcome.
Recommended bets:
1pt win – Aeronautic – 1.50 Goodwood –4/1 general
1pt each-way – Sing us a Song – 1.50 Goodwood – 5/1 general (most bookies 1/5 odds 1st 4)
1pt each-way – Two Tribes – 3.35 Goodwood – 8/1 Betfred (1/5 odds 1st 6)
1pt each-way – Far Above Dream – 3.35 Goodwood – 7/1 Betfred (1/5 odds 1st 6)
0.5pts each-way – Proud Nation – 4.10 Goodwood – 20/1 general (most bookies 1/5 odds 1st 4)
