I’ve already gone on record as being with Sir Dancealot in the ante-post market for the Stewards’ Cup, and with connections winning Friday’s big handicap with Master The World, his price could contract further. I’ve no intention of going back on my recommendation from the Matchbook Podcast, but I’m keen to dig a little deeper in a bid to find some value among the longshots in the place-only market, so here are a quartet at 25/1 and bigger who could reward support.
The going has caused some consternation at Goodwood this week, not simply because it’s clearly been very testing, but those who have sought to make mileage out of opposing horses without soft-ground form haven’t always been rewarded, with the televised winners on Friday all gaining wins on soft ground for the first time. Ruling out those without winning form in the mud is clearly a dangerous approach. Intisaab has done most of his winning on good or faster, but has won with some ease and has run well enough on soft (Ayr Gold Cup when getting no run) to suggest he’s fully effective on it. He was beaten only narrowly in a Group 3 before finish a creditable seventh in the July Cup, and few in this field could manage that. He’s coming off a moderate run in the mud at Newbury, but it should pay to ignore that given earlier positives, and he has what could be the best of the draw in stall one.
Solar Flair’s last four runs have come on either polytrack or tapeta, and he will be pigeon-holed as an al-weather horse by some. That would be lazy, as he’s shown in the past that he’s just as good on turf. He’s run very well over seven furlongs here in the past, but has since shown that he’s at his very best over this trip, and his natural speed will make it easy for Harry Bentley to get a good track position. He was behind Intisaab in the Chipchase at Newcastle last time, but that was his first run in nearly ten weeks, and he should be sharper now.
Go Far ridden by Martin Harley wins at Ayr Racecourse.
I love Go Far, partly because he’s a son of that wonderfully tough performer Carranita, who won a hatful of races for the late Bryn Palling, but also because he’s popped up to win or hit the frame at big prices when I’ve had an investment, and he tends to go very well in big field handicaps. Another horse whose wins have come on good or faster as well as the all-weather, he’ll be friendless here, but he ran a cracker the last time he tackled soft ground and a straight six furlongs, and aside from a poor run in this last year, he has an excellent record at Goodwood, boasting a win and two places from a total of four runs. He was badly squeezed out at Newmarket last time, and had been posting solid speed figures prior to that.
Stake Acclaim and Robert Winston go clear to win at Doncaster
Dean Ivory has a knack with sprinters and is represented by both Lancelot du Lac and Stake Acclaim here, with the pair berthed together in the middle of the track. Lancelot du Lac is the better known of the pair, and has the assistance of Frankie Dettori, but Stake Acclaim looks better value given how he has improved in recent months. It was easy enough to conclude that his wide-margin win at Windsor in June was somewhat flattering given how big a improvement it seemed to represent in a supposedly exposed sprinter, but he’s done enough in two starts since to show he was full value for that performance, and he would have gone very close on a repeat visit recently but for meeting late traffic problems. I’m not sure whether his draw in the middle is a blessing or a curse, but he’s one of the most likely leaders here, and hopefully Robert Winston can steer him towards the best of the ground.
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