Catch a Starfish at Goodwood
It is a rare sight to have an American raider taking on the undulations of Goodwood, but in Thursday’s King George Stakes at 2.45pm, there is every chance that the trophy could be heading stateside. Trainer Todd Pletcher sends Starfish Bay over to the UK to contest the Group 2 event over five furlongs, and he has managed to acquire the services of Frankie Dettori for riding duties. This could be a tip in itself as there are a number of runners in this race that Dettori could have chosen, but appears more than happy to receive the leg up on this four-year-old filly.
Her form looks solid enough, having won three of her four races this year including last time out, when outclassing her rivals in a decent stakes race at Monmouth Park. If she handles this track, her opponents could well be in for a tough time. The stable have certainly been bagging a few winners of late, so she is likely to be in tiptop shape.
The favourite here is likely to be Robin Bastiman’s ultra-consistent gelding, Bordelescott. He is as game a horse as you will find anywhere, and even at the age of eight, he remains competitive at this level. His four runs so far this season have yet to produce a victory, but he has still made the frame in each of them. However, recent evidence suggests he has lost the ability to quicken.
On his penultimate outing, which came in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, he looked to have every chance when challenging inside the final furlong, but as the finishing line approached, he could not find that extra gear that he used to have. It was still a very good effort in finishing third behind Equiano but the same scenario appeared in his last outing at Chester when sent off a very short priced favourite for a listed event.
Having tracked the leaders, he came through to press the leaders but no sooner had he done so, the front two pulled away again and he had to settle for third place behind Blue Jack. This is probably his favourite track though, having won the Stewards Cup back in 2006 and has every chance of running into a place once again, but for win purposes it is probably better to look elsewhere.
Many well-respected judges in the Newmarket area believe the William Haggas trained Triple Aspect, has an outstanding chance of scoring here. It is difficult to argue with them on his form this season, as he has looked very impressive in winning two of his three starts.
He showed a good turn of foot to land a valuable listed contest at Windsor on his seasonal reappearance, beating Sir Gerry by three parts of a length. It was somewhat disappointing that he could not make any impact in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at the Royal meeting, having put in such a good effort previously, although the Ascot race was an extremely high-class sprint.
He soon bounced back though, winning a Group 3 contest at Sandown where he stayed on well to beat Group Therapy by half a length. There are other positives too, most notably that his trainer won this race two years ago with a similar type called Enticing. A low draw often helps in sprint races here and Triple Aspect should have few worries coming out of stall three.
With Richard Hannon’s yard going so well at present, Elnawin could run a big race here. The four-year-old colt has hit form just at the right time and having run a terrific race when third to Glamourous Spirit at the Curragh, he gained a well-deserved victory on his final outing.
Although it was an ordinary looking conditions event at Newmarket, the acceleration he showed to come five lengths clear of Angus Newz at the line was excellent and this track looks sure to suit his style of running.
Tags: