Paul Ferguson two selections for us on Wednesday; English King in the Goodwood 2.45 and Aramax in the Galway 6.45.
Only fifth in the Derby, Lingfield Derby Trial winner English King (2:45) is fancied to bounce back in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood on Thursday.
Drawn out wide, he compromised his chance yet further by ducking to his left leaving the stalls, and took a while to get organised coming down the hill. He ran on late, collaring Mogul for fifth, and there probably won’t be much between the pair again here. However, the smaller field is likely to suit and he is taken to reverse Epsom form with the runner-up Khalifa Sat, who is one of two pace angles in the race.
Al Aasy was undoubtedly impressive in the Bahrain Trophy, but faces no easy task here under a Group 3 (3lbs) penalty, and I’m expecting English King to enhance his St Leger credentials under Frankie Dettori. Incidentally, he is currently a 12-1 shot (bet365) for the final Classic of the season.
Over at Southwell, there are a couple of horses in action who I put up last time – Éclair des Sablons (put up several times last season) and Highly Prized – so I will be interested to see how they are both priced up, with the former set to make his chasing debut.
However, the second selection of the day comes from Galway, where the Galway Hurdle looks a really competitive renewal (certainly more depth to it than the Plate). Of those towards the head of the weights, Felix Desjy would be the one I respected most following a bloodless return on the level, but I would rather look further down the weights.
The two to focus on are Wonder Laish (caught the eye on his recent return behind Aramon in the Grimes Hurdle) and Aramax (6:45) who gets the vote at the prices. He still looked to be ahead of the handicapper when winning the Boodles at the Cheltenham Festival, where he travelled notably well for Mark Walsh, who retains the partnership. He looks capable of
landing another valuable pot from his current mark, and is worth supporting each-way (available at 12-1 at the time of writing).
Thursday’s selections:
2:45 Glorious Goodwood – English King; 5/4 Betfair
6:45 Galway Festival – Aramax; 15/2 Unibet
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