Whirl looks ready to leave her Nassau rivals in a spin
DAY THREE of Glorious Goodwood is headlined by the Group One Nassau Stakes (3.05pm) for the fillies and mares.
If the forecast is to be believed, the weather might not be quite so glorious on Thursday, with the chance of some heavy thunderstorms hitting the track in the afternoon.
It only takes one heavy shower to quickly change conditions and that means it’s difficult to be confident about tipping horses ahead of time.
However, one filly that won’t be inconvenienced by a softening of conditions in the feature is Aidan O’Brien’s WHIRL.
This daughter of Wootton Bassett was a winner of a Group Three on soft ground at the Curragh in October and has developed into a Group One filly this season.
She didn’t quite see out the mile-and-a-half trip in the Oaks at Epsom two starts ago, when worn down by stablemate Minnie Hauk late on, but relished the drop back to a mile-and-a-quarter when winning the Pretty Polly last time.
The runner-up from that contest, Kalpana, franked the form when second in last weekend’s King George, removing any doubts about that being high-class form.
Three-year-olds have an excellent record in this race – winning six of the last 10 renewals – and Whirl will receive nine pounds from her older rivals.
See The Fire, Cercene and stablemate Bedtime Story probably wouldn’t want much rain to fall, with none of the trio recording a win on soft ground, and they will need to be at their best to defy Whirl.
As a strong stayer at this trip, and with the ability to handle whatever the weather throws at her, Ryan Moore is likely to try to make plenty of use of Whirl from the get-go and she should prove very hard to pass in the home straight.
She’s definitely the one to side with in World Pool’s Win market.
Today’s opening Kincsem Handicap (1.20pm) is an interesting and typically competitive Goodwood contest.
Charlie Johnston’s Marhaba Ghaiyyath looks a likely player after going close at Newmarket last time but has yet to prove himself on ground softer than good.
One that could be worth watching if the storms hit is lightly raced filly Janey Mackers, who was impressive in a soft ground Doncaster maiden last season.
The following Richmond Stakes (1.55pm) is another race that looks difficult to predict with the unsettled weather conditions.
Havana Hurricane brings the best form into the race but there are a few doubts about him seeing out this six-furlong trip and those would be exacerbated by any rainfall.
In the Gordon Stakes (2.30pm) there may value in siding with RAHIEBB.
With World Pool once again in operation for all eight races on the card, there’s exceptional value to be had betting via Tote.co.uk, especially if you like going against the crowd.
Rahiebb was beaten by MERCHANT when they met at York in May, but the later was receiving eight pounds in the handicap on that occasion.
They meet off level weights now in this Group Three and that might mean there isn’t much between them.
Add to that the fact that Rahiebb is a strong stayer at this trip, as shown by his third-placed effort in the Queen’s Vase, and probably wouldn’t mind any rain that falls, and he looks a decent bet, especially at over three times the price of Merchant.
Of course, there’s good reason for Merchant heading the market after his impressive success in the King George V Handicap at Royal Ascot, so it’s well worth including them both in a Quinella as well.
POINTERS TODAY
Rahiebb (Win) 2.30pm Goodwood
Rahiebb, Merchant (Quinella) 2.30pm Goodwood
Whirl (Win) 3.05pm Goodwood