AMATEUR PUNTER
Ben Morgan enjoys himself at Glorious Goodwood
With the final third of the Flat season almost upon us, the Covid-ravaged racing calendar has now regained a sense of normality and most meetings are back on. Goodwood was on the horizon at the start of this punting period and with such a big week coming up I was hoping to top up funds in the days running up to the Chichester showpiece.
Last month’s tip Dreamloper was a short-priced favourite at Redcar as she bid to shed her maiden tag at the third time of asking. Ed Walker’s filly showed plenty in her first two starts and from a form point of view she looked an absolute certainty. I struck a £50 wager at 11-8 and watched her price contract throughout the day, thankful that I beat the bookies.
William Buick kept things pretty simple aboard and made most. It became clear 2f out that he had them all in trouble and as he pressed the button she quickened clear in the style of a top filly.
This victory was soon followed up with another as Alastair Ralph’s Damut I’m Out (£100 at 9-2) showed the benefit of a prep run as he hosed up at Bangor. I had seen him working on the gallops a few weeks earlier and he had been going well but I think the general consensus was that he would need his first run and it proved true. At Bangor, there was never a moment in the race where you thought he wouldn’t win. A very satisfying success which set me up nicely for Goodwood.
I was soon giving it back to the bookies on Day 1 of Goodwood as Celsius (£30 at 3-1) could never get into it in the 5f handicap sprint. Unfortunately the downhill 5f at Goodwood can mean horses who are ridden towards the rear are disadvantaged, which I knew but I had hoped the pace battle up front would result in a slow final furlong allowing Celsius to pick things up late.
Time Voyage (£10 e-w at 10-1) was another disappointment as John Quinn’s tough filly just couldn’t land a blow. She had previously shown an aptitude for staying on strongly in her races and the step up to 1m 4f was sure to suit but she couldn’t reel the leaders in and consequently my money went down the drain.
What I collected on Mambo Nights (£15 e-w at 9-1) made up for a couple of poor bets on Day 1 and The Grand Visir also bought home solid each way returns in the staying handicap. Richard Hannon’s progressive threeyear-old toughed it out on the Downs to win a competitive handicap while Ian Williams’ grand old stayer put up a hell of a performance off top weight and may well have finished closer in a few more strides. This teed me up nicely for a good bet on Steel Bull in the Molecomb.
Michael O’Callaghan’s charge was the talk of the Downs beforehand and given the hype around him I was amazed to see him priced at 10-3. A £60 wager was struck and I was left to endure a couple of nervy moments. Thankfully Colin Keane doesn’t feel pressure as he waited and waited for the gaps that I didn’t think would appear. He got a sniff of a gap a furlong out and shot through it in a flash before powering away in impressive style.
The good run of form continued as the next day heralded further returns. A £40 bet on Fancy Blue at 5-2 bought home tidy profit as Donnacha O’Brien’s flying filly notched up another success. The real tough filly was given a beautiful ride by Ryan Moore as she reeled in Magic Wand and bravely fought off the rest in a competitive enough Nassau Stakes.
Jason Hart got it wrong, again, on Liberty Beach as he set a recordbreaking pace for Battaash to run in the King George. Liberty Beach won the Molecomb here last year and I was certain she would get a lot closer to Battaash this time around. I was anticipating Liberty Beach to sit on the hind of Battaash and try to do him for toe late on. If that failed at least she would pick up second place prize money and
reward each-way backers like myself (£30 e-w at 6-1). However, Hart bounced her out at breakneck speed and set it up for horses who sat off the early pace. Infuriating.
Over in Ireland, I simply had to back my old friend Aramon (£10 win at 10-1) in the Galway Hurdle. Patrick Mullins was aboard and to be fair to Patrick, he had him in the ideal position all the way around and was in pole position to pounce turning in. He kicked him on and he duly put the race to bed using his deadly turn of foot. A hike in the weights will now mean he will be forced into graded company but given a bit of good ground I do really believe he can feature in a Champion Hurdle.
My only punt on the penultimate day of Goodwood was Valerina Messalina (£20 e-w at 12-1) for Jessie Harrington in the 7f Oak Tree stakes. She looked the winner in the Irish Guineas 1f out as she hadn’t left the bridle at that point but faded badly in the final furlong as she clearly didn’t stay the mile. Dropped back to 7f next time at Cork she duly obliged and looked to forge herself a reputation as a 7f specialist.
Harrington had filled Frankie Dettori with the same amount of confidence they had in Alpine Star at Ascot and quite clearly the fact she was even sent over suggested she should be going close.
I couldn’t have her not backed at 12-1 so waded in and got way too excited as Frankie kicked her on early up the straight. The rest of the field were at it and she looked to have them all in trouble. Surely Frankie knew what was under him and wouldn’t have made such a bold move had he feared she would empty out?
It appeared not as she began to paddle in the last 50 yards and One Master came to claim her on the line. A bitter pill to swallow as she had the race won but the great Frankie Dettori got his fractions wrong and her backers suffered as a result.
I couldn’t muster up a good bet on the final day as it looked an absolute minefield for punters so left the week as it was, took my profit and ran.
The final week and a half before this went to print was pretty steady. I was due back in the office after five months of working from home and had asked my partner to marry me the following Sunday (she said yes) so safe to say my mind was elsewhere.
I will be back in the game next month bringing you the lowdown from York and building up to the return of the jumps. Happy punting!