As we approach how wonderful weekend of racing with the top-class card at Ascot kicking off on Friday, there are bits and pieces of quality before then, not least on Wednesday, with a decent listed contest at Goodwood.
3:45 Goodwood, Holberg, Win. A decent prize of £35,000 is on offer yet only five runners go to post, but what we lack in quantity which somewhat make up for in quality. I think this boils down to a duel between Hot Prospect and Holberg, a three-year-old against a four-year-old. It’s a tricky race but for me the Godolphin trained Holberg as the best claims despite having to concede six pounds to Hot Prospect. He has solid form and though he can be a tricky customer he has the benefit of Frankie Dettori, riding as well as ever in my view, in the saddle and should be too good for this field in my view. With a rating of 115 he is the best horse in the race and three runs ago at Goodwood he destroyed a quality field with the form of those behind having been franked, good and proper. This is my best bet of the day.
4:55 Goodwood, Dhaamer, Win. This is a fairly competitive handicap, but I think we have a very solid bet here with John Gosden in flying form and this horse for me still ahead of the handicapper. He gets a very attractive weight for age con session as does the Jeremy Noseda trained Alfonso the Wise who you may recall was overturned at long odds on in a poor looking maiden last time. That defeat didn’t do him any harm in terms of his handicap mark being allotted only 78, but it would take a big leap of faith to see him win this. Dhaamer on the other hand broke his maiden at the second time of asking at Lingfield, with an emphatic victory and then followed up with a handicap debut victory from a mark of 83 at Sandown, coming here up only four pounds. This looks solid and is one to back. I do worry though about the Noseda horse with Ryan Moore enjoying a 22% strike rate this season when teaming up with the stable. That said Gosden could win with the stable cat at the moment and Richard Hills is a fine pilot, particularly from the front so I will stick with Dhaamer here.
Good luck!












