The Opulence String Heading to Glorious Goodwood
Glorious Goodwood is upon us! Set against the beautiful backdrop of West Sussex, the world famous five-day festival is one of the undisputed highlights of the British flat racing season. With the Gr.1 Nassau Stakes, Gr.1 Goodwood Cup Stakes and Gr.1 Sussex Stakes to look forward to, it is a social and sporting occasion like no other.
PUROSANGUE made a very promising bid at Sandown earlier this month in the Gr.3 Coral Charge and it seems as though he has finally returned to form, in line with the Balding team who have recently catapulted into second place in the Flat Trainers Championship, having secured five Stakes victories in the last month. PUROSANGUE therefore heads back to Glorious Goodwood, the home of his near miss against BIG EVS in the Gr.3 Molecombe Stakes last season. The sharp track is well suited to him and the fast-run 6f Steward’s Cup sprint looks the ideal option for him.
The Steward’s Cup is a heritage handicap run over 6f and is a race that has produced a number of good horses through the years, most recently Gr.1 winner KHAADEM and Gr.3 victor SUMMERGHAND. It has a superb prize pot, awarding £128,000 to the winner and as a horse stepping down in class, it gives PUROSANGUE a very real chance of bringing home the trophy.
Arctic Thunder has been in fine form this season and aims to continue his upward trend in the 7f Whispering Angel Handicap (Class 2) on Saturday 3rd of August.
The race has very much been the target since his respectable ninth place in the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot, in which he ran on very well despite being on the stand side which saw little to no pace. Despite having relatively low mileage for a three-year-old, he has shown ability time and again, with two victories and a very promising run at Kempton when chasing home Classic 2000 Guineas winner NOTABLE SPEECH (Now rated 122) and Listed winner CUBAN TIGER, and we feel he has plenty of scope to achieve the festival success he deserves at Goodwood!
DASHING DARCEY has been working well at home for the Roger Varian team and is currently being targeted for the 1m1f Class 3 Coral Handicap on Saturday 3rd of August. There is also an alternate option in the 1m2f Class 2 Coral Kincsem Handicap on Thursday 1st of August should we wish to run him over slightly further.
Like ARCTIC THUNDER, DASHING DARCEY ran a strong race in the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot and has come out of the race sound and well. As a son of MUHAARAH he should certainly appreciate a step up in trip, and his previous performances, including his emphatic win at Haydock, very much support this outlook, opening up plenty of opportunities for future entries!
