Friday Racing Tips: Best bets and odds on Glorious Goodwood day four

Friday’s Glorious Goodwood tips

It’s day four at Glorious Goodwood and there’s another cracking day’s action ahead. Our horse racing correspondent Jonathan Doidge has four selections using the best odds from betting sites for you to ponder.

Coral Goodwood Handicap (13.50, Goodwood)

Regular readers will now know that I love these staying handicaps, because we get similar fields meeting each other time and again and, therefore, we usually have some reliable form to work with.

This is a high-class handicap and is an extreme test of stamina, one that we know suits DEFIANTLY, who represents a team you’ll often find me siding with, that of Joseph O’Brien and Dylan Browne McGonagle.

Aged four, he’s still got time on his side and he remains progressive and unexposed at this stage of his career. His trainer stepped him up to a similar trip in the Ascot Stakes at last month’s Royal meeting and he produced a very good effort.

We now know that he stays extreme distances because he was up with the pace more or less throughout on a stiffer track than this one. He also showed a great attitude up the home straight and, after 2m4f, he was beaten by just a head by Kizlyar.

That was on fast ground and in first-time blinkers, and he retains the headgear for this race. It’s been cracking the flags down here in Sussex all week and conditions will again suit him, while a 4lb rise still gives him the look of a well handicapped horse on what is just his second start in this sphere with a solid price available on horse racing betting sites.

Valiancy is also unexposed and has been the ante-post favourite, after a staying on sixth of 16 over 1m6f at Royal Ascot and you can see why thoughts have turned towards an extreme trip for the William Haggas-trained four-year-old.

Believeitanducan has carried all before him this season and should again be a serious player. He’s scored three times at around 2m. There’s no reason why he won’t see out this new trip but he still has it to prove.

Neither St Mawes nor Alphonse Le Grande is dismissed but, in a really good race, I will be surprised if the selection is not in the first three and Defiantly may just prove good enough to bag his first handicap success.

Goodwood day four racing tip 1: Defiantly (Goodwood, 13.50) – 1pt each-way @ 13/2 (Bet365)

Coral Golden Mile (Heritage Handicap) (15.00, Goodwood)

Never an easy puzzle to solve and generally it’s a race where low drawn horses do well but there’s been a couple of recent winners (2023, stall 18 and 2024, stall 21) where high numbers have prevailed.

That offers some encouragement that stall 11 is not the worst of draws for my suggestion in this, BUNYOLA BAY. Richard Hannon is very much among the winners this week and, despite the availability of stable jockey Sean Levey, the best in the business has been booked for the mount, Ryan Moore.

You’d like to think that’s significant for this handicap newcomer who has won two of four starts and was clearly tilting at windmills when a well beaten 50/1 chance in last month’s Irish Derby (1m4f, good).

He’s back down in trip for this and I think he can bounce back. He’s by Ghiayyath, out of an Italian Group 3 1m winner, so you’d think his pilot will be likely to try to get him out and make use of him from not too far off the pace, while we know he’s already won over further than this, so he’ll have no problems seeing it out.

He acts on fast ground and although a mark of 102 is no ‘gimme’, there looks to be improvement in him and at a double-figure price on betting apps I think we can take that chance.

There are plenty of others with claims, not least Beagle Bay, although he was taken out of his latest intended engagement due to quick ground, so that would be a concern, while Indalo, Blue Brother and Scoville, who I think we’re yet to see the best of, are potential contenders.

Goodwood day four racing tip 2: Bunyola Bay (Goodwood, 15.00) – 1pt each-way @ 10/1 (William Hill)

King George Qatar Stakes (Group 2) (15.35, Goodwood)

He’s the favourite for this and carries a 3lb penalty but I still like the chance of NIGHT RAIDER, who is enjoying a fine season since being gelded.

Karl Burke’s five-year-old won the Group 3 Palace House Stakes at Newmarket (5f, good to firm) before adding the Group 2 Temple Stakes (5f, good to soft) at Haydock earlier in the campaign.

Don’t be fooled by the 0 against his name last time as we all saw when effect the draw had at Royal Ascot and he actually ‘won his race’ of those in the middle of the track, finishing tenth in a field of 26.

He likes to be out in front, as does one of his chief opponents, Jakajaro, and they’re drawn apart in this race so hopefully won’t be cutting each other’s throat in doing so. Rumstar, Jm Jungle and American Affair are others with claims if at their best, while Asfoora doesn’t seem to be quite on her game this term, for whatever reason.

I’m sticking with Night Raider, who should appreciate this downhill sprint track and will hopefully not see another rival.

Goodwood day four racing tip 3: Night Raider (Goodwood, 16.35) – 2pts win @ 7/2 (Ladbrokes)

World Pool Bet With The tote Handicap (17.20, Goodwood)

A maximum field of 14 has been declared for this 0-90 handicap over 1m3f and I’d like to take a chance at a big price on handicap newcomer KENERGY.

George Baker trains this three-year-old who cost €77,000 as a yearling. He’s had just the three qualifying runs so far, all on Kempton’s Polytrack and over 7f or 1m. He’s shown similar promise in all three and his most recent effort saw him stay on for fourth place over the shorter of those trips.

It’s his first try on turf, so he’ll have to prove himself on quick ground but I think the handicapper has been pretty fair with a mark of 79 for his introduction to this sphere and the marked step up in trip is what really interests me with him.

He’s brother to the useful French 1m1f-1m3f winner Veronesi, so it’s possible that this longer distance will enable him to really show his capabilities and at the prices I think we can take that chance.

I have a lot of respect for Astracornus, who could be suited by this slightly longer trip in his case, while Into The Light could find more for first-time headgear and Devil’s Peak is another to consider but a small stakes each-way play on Kenergy is my idea of a wager.

Goodwood day four racing tip 4: Kenergy (Goodwood, 17.20) – 1pt each-way @ 33/1 (Betfred)

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