Goodwood Racecourse

Godolphin's €260,000 Arqana August graduate Aomori City (Fr) (Oasis Dream {GB}--Setsuko {Fr}, by Shamardal), who came back off a June 13 debut triumph at Nottingham with a third-place finish in Newmarket's July 11 G2 July Stakes, stepped forward in impressive fashion to secure a stakes breakthrough in Tuesday's G2 HKJC World Pool Vintage Stakes at Glorious Goodwood. The 2-1 favourite was slick from the gates and occupied a forward position along the rail in third through halfway. Biding his time in the straight, he was the last of seven to...

Coolmore and Westerberg's G1 Irish 1000 Guineas and G1 Coronation Stakes placegetter Opera Singer (Justify) and supplementary entry Emily Upjohn (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) are the leading lights left after 10 of 12 overnight nominees stood their ground for Thursday's G1 Qatar Nassau Stakes. Opera Singer, last term's impressive G1 Prix Marcel Boussac winner, is on course to make her first start beyond the one-mile distance while it will be dual Group 1 winner Emily Upjohn's first visit to the Sussex Downs venue. The latter's Team Gosden stablemate Inspiral...

Dual G1 Gold Cup hero Kyprios (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) remains on target for a second G1 Al Shaqab Goodwwod Cup and heads a field of seven declared for Tuesday's renewal of the £500,000 two-mile marathon. The Aidan O'Brien trainee, who continues on a facsimile of his banner 2022 campaign, is the lone Ballydoyle representative after stablemates Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}) and Point Lonsdale (Ire) (Australia {GB}) were deemed surplus to requirements at the confirmation stage. Ryan Moore has been aboard in all 15 of the six-year-old's prior starts and...

Marc Chan's 2021 G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and G1 Criterium International hero Angel Bleu (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}--Cercle De La Vie {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) had been in and out of form in eight outings since registering those career highlights as a juvenile and backed up a fourth in last month's G2 Summer Mile with a last-gasp win in Saturday's G2 William Hill Celebration Mile at Goodwood. Fourth through halfway and scrubbed along approaching the quarter-mile marker, the 9-2 chance was afforded a dream seam underneath the stands' side rail...

Newtown Anner Stud's homebred Darnation (Ire) (Too Darn Hot {GB}--Monday Monday {Ire}, by Galileo {Ire}) improved off a debut third at Haydock to post an impressive 10-length tally over the same seven-furlong distance at Thirsk last month and made a smooth transition upped to pattern-race level with a game tally in Saturday's G3 William Hill Prestige Fillies' S. at Goodwood. Positioned in a stalking second after a smart getaway, the 5-2 favourite fanned wide with the field off the home turn and kept on relentlessly under a drive inside the...

The final three races of the Qatar Goodwood Festival Saturday card were cancelled after the racecourse failed to pass inspection after the Coral Stewards' Cup. A group of officials, trainers and jockeys went to inspect the track, and paid particular attention to the bend into the home straight. After the running of the G2 Lillie Langtry S. at 3 p.m, which took place during a torrential downpour, some jockeys were concerned regarding the state of the round course. Ed Arkell, Goodwood's director of racing, told Racing TV, "The jockeys expressed...

Saturday's closing card of the Qatar Goodwood Festival sees the focus fall on one of Britain's most prestigious handicaps in the Stewards' Cup, with just the one pattern race being the G2 Qatar Lillie Langtry S. George Strawbridge's Free Wind (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who met with a reversal for the first time in two years when fifth in the G2 Hardwicke S. at Royal Ascot, lost nothing in defeat there when fifth from a compromising position on too-fast ground. The G2 Park Hill S., G2 Lancashire Oaks and G2 Middleton...

John Quinn's stable star Highfield Princess (Fr) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}--Pure Illusion {Ire}, by Danehill) took four starts to get rolling last year and provided symmetry to her profile with another post-Summer Solstice springboard in Friday's G2 King George Qatar S. at Goodwood. Last term's G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, G1 Nunthorpe and G1 Flying Five heroine broke sharply from the traps and was under a firm grip in second as habitual pacesetter Ponntos (Ire) (Power {GB}) led the way at a healthy clip. Cruising to the front on the...

George Strawbridge's homebred 'TDN Rising Star' Epictetus (Ire) (Kingman {GB}--Thistle Bird {GB}, by Selkirk) had finished of the board in his three latest starts and returned to form with a bang to deny fellow Rising Star Nostrum (GB) (Kingman {GB}) in Friday's G3 Bonhams Thoroughbred S. at Goodwood. Last term's G1 Futurity Trophy second, who annexed Epsom's Listed Blue Riband Trial on sophomore return, was swiftly into stride from the inside gate and raced under a firm hold in third through the early fractions as Nostrum set the tone up...

Shadwell's Al Husn (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}--Hadaatha {Ire}, by Sea The Stars {Ire}) caused an upset when usurping Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the dying strides of Newcastle's G3 Hoppings S. when last seen and repeated the dose with a game performance for a career high in a stellar renewal of Thursday's G1 Qatar Nassau S. at Goodwood. This year's G2 Dahlia S. runner-up and Listed Rothesay S. victrix was let go at generous odds of 9-1 and broke smartly from the outside stall to find a smooth rhythm in a...

King Charles III's 'TDN Rising Star' Desert Hero (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}--Desert Breeze {GB}, by Dubawi {Ire}) represents the last chance of a Classic winner for His Majesty in the inaugural year of his reign and the William Haggas trainee went some way to making that a reality with a narrow verdict in Thursday's G3 John Pearce Racing Gordon S. at Goodwood. Positioned at the tail of the six-runner field through halfway in this staging post for next month's G1 St Leger, the 7-1 chance was shaken up to...

So far at Goodwood this week, the front end has been the place to be in the races that matter most and that is good news for connections of Blue Rose Cen (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) as she prepares to battle her elders for the first time in Thursday's G1 Qatar Nassau S. They include the gilt-edged 4-year-old Nashwa (GB) (Frankel {GB}), but Hollie Doyle no doubt has a far greater tactical task than Aurelien Lemaitre on the French raider who is even drawn in one to add more bolster to...