Glorious Goodwood promises to be another thrilling event this August and the biggest races are stacked towards the end of the week. Among the highlights are the King George Stakes, the Nassau Stakes and the Stewards Cup, three of the biggest races in the entire flat season calendar, and here we have previewed all three, offering analysis and tips.
Nassau Stakes
Champion trainer Aiden O'Brien's Winter is the 7/4 favourite to win this Group 1 contest and scoop the lion's share of a £600,000 prize pot after enjoying a splendid season. She has surely been the best three-year-old in 2017 and has already claimed the English 1000 Guineas and the Irish 1000 Guineas. This would be her fourth Group 1 victory of the season, but she will have to prove her mettle over a further distance here as this will be her first run at 1m 2f, and the field is full of danger. Fellow filly Shutter Speed, the 5/1 second favourite, has proven her class over this distance already, by finishing fourth in a very competitive French Oaks. She can go better here as she had a bad draw in that race and still battled valiantly from a horrible wide position. She has since won the Musidora and a Newbury Connections race and is constantly improving. The older generation has won this race on 18 of the past 25 occasions and leading the Classics brigade is Nezwaah, also at 5/1. She has won at Group 1 and was second in the Irish Oaks and will be a huge threat, while So Mi Dar (8/1) is a dangerous wildcard as she has bags of pace but has not run in 2017. It might be worth an each-way bet on Nezwaah or So Mi Dar, but this is Winter's race to lose and 7/4 looks great. Bookmaker will have strong odds for the contest, as this analysis shows, so get involved and back the season's best filly.
King George Stakes
Take Cover is bidding to become the first horse in history to win the Group 2 King George on three separate occasions. This is the fifth year in a row in which he has entered the King George or a supporting race and he has never finished outside the top two. If he has been beaten it has been by a nose, and trainer David Griffiths says he is running better than ever before. “It seems stupid to say it when he's 10 years old, but he seems be taking his races better than he used to,” says Griffiths. “He was great when winning at York last time, and seems just as good and strong as last year. He's won on heavy [going], but ideally wants it good or firmer.” It might be worth checking the forecast ahead of the race and then Take Cover looks a good each-way bet at 8/1. The 3/1 favourite, Baattash, looks hard to stop though as he is a very talented young sprinter.
Stewards Cup
This six-furlong sprint is a horrendously difficult race to win, so it might be worth keeping your stakes reasonably low on this one. Still, Projection has emerged as the narrow favourite and deservedly so after he finished third in a similarly competitive Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot. The price on this Roger Charlton trained horse is dropping, however, and has gone in from 9/1 to 7/1. It might be worth backing him each-way sooner rather than later as it only seems to be going in one direction at the moment. The field is huge and if you are looking for a longer shot Sir Dancealot at 16/1 has a great chance.
