Horse Racing Betting Tips: Cross Counter out to silence hat-trick seeking Stradivarius
PLENTY are still talking about Saturday’s epic King George duel between Enable and Crystal Ocean which is quite rightly being billed as one of the greatest races of the modern era.
Remarkably, only a few days later, there is the potential for another titanic tussle with the first, second and fourth home from last month’s Gold Cup at Ascot set to lock horns again in today’s Qatar Goodwood Cup (3.35pm).
The obvious place to start is with hot favourite STRADIVARIUS who bids to land this race for a third year on the bounce.
It is remarkable to think that the son of Sea The Stars already has two Gold Cups and two Goodwood Cups to his name despite only being a five-year-old.
He showed his usual guts and determination to repel all challengers at Royal Ascot last month and will be tough to stop again.
Regular pilot Frankie Dettori takes the mount with his confidence sky high after Enable’s success on Saturday.
The 48-year-old Italian is looking for a remarkable tenth Group One in a red-hot eight-week spell that has seen him riding at his tactical best.
Stradivarius will take all the beating but is a best-priced 8/11 with Coral to win this valuable prize and may just be worth opposing at those odds.
Don’t forget he was all out to repel Torcedor in what looked a far weaker contest 12 months ago and is the same price this afternoon.
His biggest danger would appear to be Godolphin’s Melbourne Cup winner CROSS COUNTER who was unsuited by the soft ground at Ascot when the pair last met.
The four-year-old is a perfect two from two over this two-mile trip on a sound surface having won the Dubai Gold Cup at Meydan in March after his memorable win in Australia’s most famous race.
At this meeting 12 months ago, he readily saw off DEE EX BEE in the Group Three Gordon Stakes showing a terrific turn of foot to run out a comprehensive winner.
With conditions set fair this afternoon, there will be more emphasis on speed than stamina and that will surely play into the hands of Charlie Appleby’s gelding.
The brutal conditions at this year’s Royal meeting blunted that acceleration and also meant he was ridden with too much restraint in order to get home.
That put him at a considerable tactical disadvantage as he simply had too much ground to make up late on.
If you watch a replay of the race, he actually ran far better than I first thought and travelled into the contest strongly before being unable to quicken up.
He looks a really good bet at around the 7/2 mark and there’s every chance some firms may open up at 4/1 this morning.
Dee Ex Bee has been a revelation since being stepped up to two miles this season and finished a gallant runner-up to Stradivarius at Ascot.
Having performed well on a softer surface as a two-year-old, he has since shown his adaptability when it comes to ground, winning on good to firm on his last two starts over this trip at both Ascot and Sandown.
Unfortunately, he will find it harder to repel the big guns here but will surely play his part in what looks sure to be another closely-fought finish.
Any rain would make it more of a war of attrition which would play to his strengths, but under these conditions he may struggle to hold the big two at bay.
Stradivarius became the first three-year-old for over 25 years to win this race when landing the 2017 renewal, so the Classic generation look up against it here.
Dashing Willoughby looks to hold the best chance of the younger horses but would arguably want softer ground to be seen at his best.
Aidan O’Brien saddles three in the shape of Harpo Marx, South Pacific and Southern France.
The latter would be the pick of the trio based on his recent fourth to Twilight Payment at the Curragh but he’s still some way behind what is required here.
BILL ESDAILE’S GOODWOOD CUP 1-2-3
1 CROSS COUNTER
2 STRADIVARIUS
3 DEE EX BEE