Mahadee Is the Value in Totesport Mile
The big handicap at Goodwood on Friday is the Totesport Mile, formerly known as the Golden Mile, and as per usual, this looks a wide-open affair. No less than 22 runners are set to line up at 3.25pm GMT for this contest, which has thrown up some big priced winners in the past.
Mahadee
There could well be another upset on the cards this year and one who looks a lively outsider is Mahadee, trained by Ralph Beckett and ridden by the talented young apprentice Martin Lane.
This five-year-old gelding has had a busy season so far but he has really found some form on his last two starts. He put in a cracking effort on his penultimate outing in a valuable handicap at Salisbury. Having taken up the running inside the final furlong, he quickly put daylight between himself and his opponents, eventually winning by just over two lengths from Benandonner.
Earlier this month, he ran in a competitive handicap at Doncaster, where he found himself consistently hampered throughout the closing stages. Having finished in the runner-up position, the stewards deemed that the first past the post, Ancient Cross had caused enough interference to reverse the placings. That form is good enough to put him in the mix here, and at odds of around 33/1 he has terrific each-way value.
The favourite, and probably a worthy one, is Sea Lord, trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Royston Ffrench. This three-year-old son of Cape Cross has had an excellent season so far, winning four of his six starts. His last two successes have come in valuable handicaps, the first of which came at the Curragh, where he made all the running under Frankie Dettori to win comfortably by a length and a quarter from Scandal Sheet.
His bold front running tactics proved successful again at Newmarket last time, although on this occasion, he had to work very hard to hold off the late challenge of First Cat. The way he battled that day shows that he will be a tough opponent to pass and a three-pound penalty for that win, may not be enough to stop him. The main worry with this one is the track itself. Its undulations may not suit him too well as he does have quite a long stride. Therefore, there is little value at his current odds of around 6/1 and it is better to look elsewhere.
Not only does Ralph Beckett have a good chance of winning this with Mahadee, but he also runs one of the market leaders, Oasis Dancer. He is a lightly raced three-year-old son of Oasis Dancer who comes here on the back of a victory in a conditions event at Newbury. That form may not be good enough to win here, but it is interesting that connections thought he was good enough to contest the Irish 2000 Guineas on his penultimate outing.
Although he failed to make much of an impact in that event, his trainer undoubtedly holds him in some regard and it would be no surprise to see him involved in the finish, although his odds of around 7/1 do look a little prohibitive.
Frankie Dettori could well fancy his chances of another big race success aboard the Saeed Bin Suroor trained Invisible Man. He left all of his previous form well behind when landing the Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot. He appeared to have an enormous task with two furlongs to run that day, as he found himself trailing by some margin. However, he fairly flew home inside the distance and got up to snatch an unlikely victory in the final few strides.
He has been raised six-pounds for that effort which seems fair given the quality of the opposition that day. A strong gallop could be a reason for his sudden improvement in form and with a number of front-runners here, he could make a bold bid to follow up.
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