Drink to Ouzo for Goodwood opener

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Glorious Goodwood selections Tuesday 27th July

The opening day at Glorious Goodwood, but it has been anything but glorious weather over the last couple of days and the meeting gets underway with heavy conditions. With horses declared on much quicker ground, there aren’t many soft ground specialists in the line up today, but we are taking our chance in three races.

Goodwood 1.50: Ouzo & Migration

Maydanny bids to follow up his win in this last year, but I prefer two opponents against him.

OUZO was well beaten on his one previous try at 10f, but he is worth another try at the trip on a sharp track, especially as he gets his favoured soft going today. His form figures on soft read 2141 including a big handicap win at York last autumn. He has run two solid races on his last couple of starts, notably a fine fourth in the Hunt Cup at the Royal meeting, again keeping on as if a mile is his absolute minimum.

That appeared to be the case at Salisbury last time as well, where he could never quite get competitive in fifth position. He can use his mile pace here on this largely downland course.

MIGRATION has been well found in the market, but you had to be impressed by his comeback in the same Salisbury race last month when fourth having never really been put in the race with a big chance. That was his first outing since September 2019 after a long season where he had won two decent handicaps at Newmarket and Sandown.

This 10f trip is definitely what he wants (stepping back up from a mile at Salisbury). One slight issue is that he has never run over ground this soft before. However his siblings had decent form on soft ground and he has run well on both attempts on good-to-soft previously.

Goodwood 3.00: Space Blues

Another to face heavy going for the first time is SPACE BLUES but I am confident his pure class will see him through.

He is just about the best 7f horse out there and he was undefeated in four runs at the trip in Europe on 2020. That included a comprehensive win in this contest last year and then a Group 1 win at Deauville. Earlier in the year he had coped perfectly well with good-to-soft when winning at Haydock and Longchamp and his wide draw won’t be such an issue with the likelihood now they will come stands side.

This will be his first start since flopping at Dubai – but he was below par there last year too before bouncing straight back to form in Europe and he simply looks the best horse in the field.

Goodwood 4.10: Only Spoofing

My confidence in ONLY SPOOFING is certainly tempered by the heavy going, but he is in top form, loves racing on these downhill 5f tracks and does have some solid back form on soft going in the past.

After three average runs since joining Kevin Coleman this season, he suddenly produced a top effort back at 5f to win at Navan in May. He then finished a fine second in the Dash at Epsom and fourth in the Rockingham at the Curragh. I will forgive him a less good effort at Ascot last time as that stiffer track would not have been ideal.

Only Spoofing won this race on the card last year, his only previous visit to Goodwood. If you go back to his younger days he has solid placed form on soft going and what might be in his favour is a mass of front-runners he can track and try and pick off late on.

Recommended bets:

1pt each-way – Ouzo – 1.50 Goodwood – 12/1 Paddy Power, William Hill (1/5 odds 1st 5)

1pt win – Migration – 1.50 Goodwood – 3/1 general

1pt win – Space Blues – 3.00 Goodwood – 11/4 general

0.5pts each-way – Only Spoofing – 4.10 Goodwood – 7/1 Betfred (1/5 odds 1st 4)

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