After a frustrating period over the last two months, it was nice to finally land a big-priced winner after seeing many being backed in the market and not firing.
Kiss Me My Love won at 12/1, but was tipped up at 22/1. Jo Mason had the horse positioned in a lovely spot just off the pace, and when she asked the horse to pick up in the straight, he did. His stamina just managed to last to deny a late closer.
Saddadd 15/8 (2pt) – Goodwood 3.35
I am not expecting fantastic odds for Saddadd, even though he has yet to prove he is a proven Class 1 horse. However, this is not a great Listed race, which is the case for the majority of the time. That means, a horse that is unexposed, like Saddadd, can come in and progress into bigger and better races
The London Gold Cup he won back in May, is usually a good race, which produces Class 1 horses from either the winner or the ones who are in the places. Saddadd looked every inch a Class 1 performer when winning a Class 2 handicap in good style at the back end of August. Not only that, but he showed he can win races on a much slower surface, which bodes well for today's race, which will be run on soft ground.
Obviously, this race is going to be his toughest assignment against multiple 100+ rated horses, but they are all exposed. Even the younger, unexposed horses, like the Balding horse, have a lot to prove. That horse was second in a Derby trial at Chester earlier in the year, but the form of that race looks really bad, and he has since run a poor race from his only start since Chester.
I think Starzintheireyes is the main threat, but he's not been on the track since winning a Group 3 in good fashion last year. Hopefully, he'll need the run.
Steps In The Sand 13/2 (1pt) – Goodwood 4.45
It's a rare runner in the UK for Irish trainer Ciaran Murphy, who sends across Steps In The Sand for today's Class 3 handicap.
Irish raiders always have to be respected, and their price is usually much shorter, even if they don't have a fantastic chance. I think Steps In The Sand has a solid enough chance in this handicap in a competitive race. Since he has moved to Ciaran's yard, he has done nothing but improve and has landed multiple wins on the flat, including at the Galway Festival. Last time out at Galway, earlier in the month, he went very close and finished in second spot.
The form seems decent enough, and given the fact that we know he handles the soft ground and runs well in big fields, everything points towards a big run. His 7lb claimer is able to claim the full 7lbs again, as last time around he was only allowed to claim 4lbs.
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