Aeronautic 5/1 (4pl) – Goodwood 1.50
I thought the jockey booking of John Velazquez on Aeronautic was a very strange one at Royal Ascot, as Dylan Browne McMonagle is the stable jockey for Joseph O'Brien and has shown himself to be one of the best in Europe this year. Today, he finds himself back in the saddle of this horse, and with the main man doing the steering, it's hard to see him out of the picture.
He finished fourth of sixteen at Royal Ascot and didn't get a completely clear passage through. I like the fact that he is proven in big-field handicaps. Not only has he run well at Royal Ascot, but he has run well at this venue, including in this specific race last year when he finished third off a 1lb lower mark.
He's a lively contender, and I struggle to see him out of the places.
Ferrous 18/1 (6pl) – Goodwood 3.35
Being drawn in stall 12 is going to cause Callum Rodriguez a problem from the start. He's got to decide quickly which is the right side to go to, but it would be foolish to believe that this won't be premeditated. Hopefully, they choose the correct side where the most pace is, and where the ground is best.
Ferrous is best known as an all-weather horse these days, but as we saw at Hamilton, he is still a capable horse on the turf. He is 3lbs lower than his AW rating, but based on how he ran at Hamilton off a weight of ten stone, it gives me plenty of confidence that a big run could happen.
Naval Light 15/2 (4pl) – Goodwood 4.10
Apart from Epsom, the only other very similar track to Goodwood for sprint races over 5f is Catterick. This race isn't over 5f, but Catterick is very undulating, and that should prep Naval Light for the experience he'll need for Goodwood. To add to this, he has already raced at this track and finished second of fifteen.
I think Naval Light could still be on a good handicap mark, even off his revised rating. Jack Nicholls is in the saddle and offsets 3lbs, meaning he is also running off a very low racing weight.
Brighton Boy (16/1, 5pl) – Thirsk 3.47
In a race like this where only a few horses have course wins, I think siding with one of them has to be way forward.
Brighton Boy is the biggest priced of the three horses who have won at Thirsk, and he did that earlier in the season. He is still a relatively young horse at the age of four, and did run well on his next run after his win here. The latest run wasn't the best of efforts, but he hasn't shown his best form on either of his AW starts, so hopefully the return to turf will see a return to form.
GambleAware