As with most multi-day meetings, much of the focus in the lead-up to the Qatar Goodwood Festival centres around the 13 Group Class contests on offer – particularly the Group 1 trio of the Goodwood Cup, Sussex Stakes, and Nassau Stakes. However, the high-class action makes up only a percentage of the Sussex offering, and we shouldn’t ignore the punting opportunities presented by the steady stream of handicapping contests at the meeting.
Goodwood handicaps are rarely easy to unravel, with the big fields and vagaries of the draw presenting punters with a tricky puzzle to solve. With that in mind, here we look back at the past ten editions (where available) of the four handicaps on the opening day and highlight a selection of stats and trends which may help zero in on the most likely contenders.
1:50 Coral Chesterfield Cup Handicap, Class 2, 1m2f
- 4 or 5 years of age – 10 out of 10
- Top 6 finish last time out – 9 out of 10
- Ran within the last 30 days – 9 out of 10
- Previously won over 1m2f or further – 8 out of 10
- Previously won at Class 2 level or above – 7 out of 10
- Previously competed at Listed level or above – 6 out of 10
Trends Selections:
Enfjaar to Win @ 5/1 with Betfred
Track Of Time Each Way @ 25/1 with bet365
4:10 Coral Racing Club Handicap, Class 2, 5f (established in 2015, 9 previous editions)
- Unplaced last time out – 9 out of 9
- Previously won over 5f – 8 out of 9
- Carried less than 9st – 8 out of 9
- Previously won at Class 2 level or above – 8 out of 9
- 4-6 years of age – 7 of 9
- Previously competed at Listed level or above – 6 of 9
Trends Selection:
Navello each way @ Best Morning Price
5:20 Ridgeview Fillies’ Handicap, Class 3, 1m (established in 2016, 8 previous editions)
- Top 3 finish last time out – 7 out of 8
- Carried 8st9lb or more – 7 out of 8
- Ran within the last 21 days – 7 out of 8
- Three or fewer previous handicap starts – 6 out of 8
- Previously won over 1m – 5 out of 8
- Previously won at Class 3 level or above – 5 out of 8
Trends Selections:
Circe each way @ Best Morning Price
Surveyor each way @ Best Morning Price
5:55 HKJC World Pool British EBF Fillies’ Handicap (established in 2020, 3 previous editions)
- 3 years of age – 3 out of 3
- Carried 9st3lb or less – 3 out of 3
- Top 5 finish last time out – 3 out of 3
- Ran within the last 19 days – 3 out of 3
- 7 or fewer previous handicap starts – 3 out of 3
- Previously competed at Listed level or above – 2 out of 3
Trends Selections:
Tierney each way @ Best Morning Price
Paul Harrison
Falling in love with racing at a young age, Paul’s passion for sports and betting took him to Salford University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with Gambling Studies. Having spent ten years in the employment of a leading bookmaker, Paul opted to go it alone and pursue his dream job as a freelance writer.
