Glorious Goodwood: Day three as it happened

Suddenly we were halfway through Glorious Goodwood and the top-class action kept on coming.
Lord March and racecourse MD Adam Waterworth discuss the action  Picture by Malcolm WellsLord March and racecourse MD Adam Waterworth discuss the action  Picture by Malcolm Wells
Lord March and racecourse MD Adam Waterworth discuss the action Picture by Malcolm Wells

Thursday was Ladies’ Day and the racing highlight was the Group 2 Artemis Goodwood Cup - featuring Estimate, owned by The Queen, bidding to take the crown from last year’s winner Brown Panther, bred and part-owned by Michael Owen.

There was also the Richmond Stakes and the Lillie Langtry Stakes to extend the pattern-race action, plus the Magnolia Cup ladies’ charity race which is always a sparkling start to Ladies’ Day.

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12.30pm. It’s sunny, a little breezy ... perfect for Ladies’ Day I’d say. You don’t want it too hot with close on 25,000 in here.

First event of the day was the draw for the 32Red Cup (Stewards’ Cup) - see the full draw at the end of this page.

A reminder that you can see a variety of pictures from the day on my Twitter feed

12.45. The going is unchanged at Good to Firm after a dry night and 12 hours of watering.

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Seamus Buckley, Goodwood’s Clerk of the Course, said this morning:”We watered a lot of the course between 6.30pm yesterday and 6.30am.

“Approximately seven millimetres of water was put on the straight, all the bends and around the 1m 6f start. It takes an hour to water a furlong with up to seven millimetres.

“The watering has started to take effect as can be seen from the GoingStick reading which is the lowest we have had this week.

“It takes a lot of hard work by the groundstaff to maintain the going in these very warm conditions. It is forecast to be dry again today, with temperatures reaching 23 or 24 degrees Celsius. I will be reviewing the ground as the day goes on and make a decision later on about whether to water after racing.

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“I am delighted with how things are going and the course is standing up well after two days of tremendous racing.

“There is the possibility of showers tomorrow evening and there might be some rain on Saturday.”

12.50. Talking of Saturday, some news ahead of the Markel Insurance Nassau Stakes.

This year’s renewal will see a field of seven go to post, all of whom will be chasing a first Group One success. Sir Michael Stoute is the most successful current trainer with seven triumphs and will be represented by Mango Diva, who was last seen out when taking the Group Two Kilboy Estate Stud Stakes at the Curragh on July 20.

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1.15 The parade ring and winner’s enclosure are a seething mass of well-turned-out lady jockeys, photographers and race officials ahead of the Magnolia Cup - which by the way is set to raise £200k for a couple of worthy children’s charities. The event is in its fourth year and has become a big part of Ladies’ Day.

1.30. The honours in the Magnolia Cup go to Edie Campbell (again!) on See The Storm - and among the large crowd watching on is Tom Cruise.

1.45. Unbelievable scenes in the winner’s enclosure as Tom Cruise presents the Magnolia Cup prizes. Everyone wanted to see him and take a picture and say ‘Hello Tom’. His security men had their work cut out. All good glamorous Ladies’ Day stuff - pictures at my Twitter feed

Campbell, this year’s Goodwood ladies’ race ambassador, had won the Magnolia Cup in 2011 and been fourth in 2012 - she and the other eight who took part were raising money for The Reading Agency, which is dedicated to aiding reading and literacy skills, and Best Beginnings, which breaks down inequalities in child health.

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Campbell said: “I’ve been riding out at Ian Williams for a couple of months and I was so grateful to him and the horse’s owners for allowing me to ride. I watched a recording of him [See The Storm] at Ascot and that gave me confidence knowing he wanted to win. I was more nervous than ever this year, because you know it’s frightening and scary, and you put a lot of work in to get here.”

Now for the racecard proper and we begin with the Fairmont Stakes at 2.05.

2.05. The Fairmont Stakes is won by Lyn Valley for Joe Fanning and Mark Johnston. It went off at 14/1.

2.20 So trainer Mark Johnson starts Thursday as he started Tuesday, with a winner. And where he got 1-3-4 on Tuesday he has opened day three with a 1-2, with Lyn Valley a comfortable winner of the Fairmont ahead of his other runner Rainbow Rock, ridden by Cam Hardie.

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“He deserved this,” said Johnston, welcoming his second winner of the meeting, “as he’s run really well in some tough races, just out of the prize money, and the handicapper hasn’t given him much of a break. And yes, the other horse was probably the unlucky one, but a winner’s a winner.”

Fanning, enjoying his second victory of Glorious Goodwood 2014, produced Lyn Valley with a well-timed run to get up to take the opening Fairmont Handicap.

“We went quick then slow before the tempo increased at the three pole. I didn’t think I’d win two out and it probably helped that they came back to me a bit. He likes this ground,” said Fanning,

“He jumped and travelled well but I never really felt I was going to win the race. I thought I would maybe stay on for a place and the first two just seemed to die a little bit at the furlong and just gave us some time.

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2.30. Next it’s the Qatar Bloodstock Richmond Stakes, a six-furlong dash for two-year-olds and all five of our tipsters (see their selections on the link below) have gone for Richard Hannon’s promising Ivawood. Bound not to win then...

Mark Johnston is the first trainer to notch two wins at Glorious this year. Jockey Joe Fanning joins Richard Kingscote and James Doyle in having had two wins.

Not seen any A-list Hollywood celebs in the past half-hour. How dull.

2.35 Hannon and Hughes off the mark - and impressively so - with Ivawood. Easy, easy win for the 2/5 favourite.

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Hannon said of Ivawood: “Physically he looks streets ahead of a lot of two-year-olds, and I don’t think he will become ‘just a two-year-old’. We will probably keep him at six furlongs, although seven is an option and he looks a Guineas horse until proving otherwise.

“We don’t need to do a lot with him - he’s fit now and all we have to do is keep the ball rolling until the Prix Morny, or Middle Park or Dewhurst Stakes - or wherever we go. We’ll let the dust settle, but he will now go for a Group One, whether at six or seven furlongs. The Morny comes a little soon.

“His dad won the Molecomb Stakes at this meeting over five furlongs, but this horse is different from his dad. Physically he is very different - at two his dad wasn’t very big and was much sharper. This horse has loads of speed, but has a lot more scope than Zebedee had.

Hughes, notching up his 51st Glorious Goodwood winner and 160th in all at the course, said: “Ivawood is very good. He’s a big, powerful horse, he’s fast and stays well - he’s got everything really.

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“I thought he coped with the ground at Newmarket last time but he loved it today. He went down like a bird on it and travelled ever so easily.

“He looks like Toronado and is made like him. I think that he is ahead of the other two-year-olds at the moment because he is so powerful. He’s quite a fast horse, he’s a lot faster than Toronado was at this stage.

“I would say that we will be staying at six furlongs for the time being. They don’t have to go up in trip when they are showing you that much speed. We have a number of good two-year-olds and we will shuffle them about.

“It took a while to get a winner but at least the horses are running well. I felt that the only one that should have won was Beacon, and that was my fault, and the rest are all running big, competitive races.”

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3.10 There’s no win for The Queen or Michael Owen in the Artemis Goodwood Cup - it goes to Godolphin’s 5/1 shot Cavalryman, ridden by Kieren Fallon, celebrating his 40th Glorious Goodwood win. Brown Panther was third, behind Ahzeemah. Cavalryman was tipped on this website this morning by one of our panel, Coral’s Dave Stevens.

And not having had enough of famous faces with earlier sightings of Tom Cruise and Gok Wan - the latter doing some fashion features for Channel 4 Racing - we now have royalty in the winner’s enclosure as The Queen’s grand-daughter Zara Tindall does the honours for the Goodwood Cup prizes.

Zara would probably have liked to be handing them over to her grandma’s racing team, but Estimate faded after a strong first half of the race.

Trainer Saeed bin Suroor has his sights set on the Emirates Melbourne Cup for Cavalryman.

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“Cavalryman is a good fighter,” said bin Suroor. “He won over two miles in Dubai on firmer ground and also he won last time over a mile and a half at Newmarket on the soft. He runs on any ground and is doing really well. He improves with age.

“He is very easy to train, very simple. Whatever you ask of him in the morning, he does it really well. When he work over seven furlongs or a mile, he doesn’t show you a lot because he is a stayer. I think a mile and a six furlongs or two miles is the best trip for him.

“I said to Kieren (Fallon) to keep the horse where he is happy but the best way, like when he ran and won in Dubai, is to come from behind. He is a tough horse and always runs well.”

Fallon said: “It’s a great race, a great meeting and it’s great to be in the winner’s enclosure. This horse, when he hit the front, thought that he had done enough. I thought I was clear and I didn’t realise we had another horse coming but he had enough done.”

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3.45 The Group 3 Sterling Insurance Lillie Langtry Stakes brings a win for a Sussex-based jockey - Jim Crowley. He wins it on Missunited (3/1 favourite), trained by Irish handler Michael Winters, holding off strong challenges from Arabian Comet (second) and Waila (my tip - third).

Is there a tougher, braver horse in training than Missunited? “In fairness, absolutely no,” is the opinion of the mare’s trainer Michael Winters. The star of his small Co Cork stable was flat to the boards at the finish of the Sterling Insurance Lillie Langtry Stakes but repelled all comers to beat Arabian Comet and Waila half a length and a head, with Talent close behind. But she may have paid dearly for her heroic effort, for Jim Crowley dismounted after pulling up and Missunited walked away feelingly.

4.20 The EBF British Stallion Studs New Ham Maiden Fillies’ Stakes is won by the 15/8 favourite Shagah - making it a double for Messrs Hannon and Hughes (and for my tips!).

Hannon said: “Shagah is a filly I have always loved. I liked the way she travelled today. I suppose we could look at races like the Radley Stakes or Rockfel Stakes. I’d like to think she could be a Guineas filly but she has got a bit to prove before that. She is a big filly with plenty of scope and could end up going a mile and a quarter next year.”

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All five of our tipsters have had success today - for a change. Tony Castley has taken his wins tally for the week to six with three today, Tanya Stevenson has had two today (four for the week), Adam Waterworth has two today (four in total), David Stevens has two for the day, four for the week, and I have two today (two in total). I know, I know.

4.50. The Tatler Stakes is claimed by Safety Check, ridden by William Buick for Godolphin and trainer Charlie Appleby. It’s the latest of many big-priced winners this week - 14/1 the starting price.

Appleby said: “I’ve not got that much experience of this place, but a year down the line [after his first win here] it’s great to have a Glorious Goodwood winner. He was a hardy little campaigner last year and did me proud by running almost every week and would never put a bad run in.

5.25 Andrew Balding celebrates his second success of the week as Kieran Shoemark guides Angelic Upstart (12/1) to the win in the last, the QIPCO Apprentice Stakes.

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It was an eighth winner at Glorious Goodwood for the Lambourn handler, who said: “Angelic Upstart was given a very capable ride by Kieran. His family is steeped in racing and his dad was actually apprenticed to my dad before being a conditional for Jenny Pitman. His great uncle was a jockey and his uncle (Peter) is John Gosden’s racing secretary, so he has got great connections. His brother Connor is a top conditional and Kieran rides very well too.”

Today’s attendance came to 23,524 which is the highest seen on the day since at least the turn of the century. Adam Waterworth, Managing Director of the Racecourse, commented: “It has been a phenomenal day at Glorious Goodwood, with tremendous racing, a great atmosphere and a modern-day record crowd. We are very pleased to have an A-list celebrity in Tom Cruise attend and present the prizes for our charity race, The Magnolia Cup presented by Theo Fennell, which is excellent for racing.”

And how’s the course shaping up in this so-far-rain-free week? Seamus Buckley, Goodwood’s Clerk of the Course, said: “The ground rode as advertised, it was good, fast Flat-racing ground after we watered extensively last night. Most of the jockeys were of the opinion that the watering that was carried out had certainly eased the ground. And I must pay tribute to the groundstaff who worked a solid 12 hours to get some water back on the course before it dried out during racing today.”

There’s rain forecast on Friday evening, incidentally.

That’s Ladies’ Day over and done with - there’s more from the day on this website now and there’ll be video of all sorts of famous people, like Tom Cruise, later on Thursday night.

More live updates tomorrow, day four.

STEVE BONE

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Here’s Saturday’s 32Red Cup (Stewards’ Cup) line-up with draw numbers in brackets...

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1) (26) Rex Imperator (George Turner) cp5-9-10 William Haggas/Joseph O’Brien

2) (3) York Glory (USA) (Salman Rashed & Mohamed Khalifa) b6-9-09 Kevin Ryan/James Doyle

3) (19) Alben Star (IRE) (J K Shannon & M A Scaife) 6 9-07 Richard Fahey/George Chaloner (3)

4) (21) Ashpan Sam (Advantage Chemicals Holdings Ltd) 5-9-07 John Spearing/Jimmy Fortune

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5) (8) Ruwaiyan (USA) (Saeed Manana) cp5-9-05 James Tate/Graham Lee

6) (18) Shropshire (IRE) (Catherine Corbett & Chris Wright) h6-9-05 Charlie Hills/William Buick

7) (15) Ninjago (Jonathan Palmer-Brown & Potensis Ltd) 4-9-05 Richard Hannon/Ryan Moore

8) (14) Hallelujah (CLS (Chippenham) Ltd) t6-9-04 James Fanshawe/Hayley Turner

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9) (13) Blaine (Matt & Lauren Morgan) b4-9-04 (inc 6lb ex) Kevin Ryan/Amy Ryan

10) (11) Sir Maximilian (IRE) (Paul Wildes) 5 9-04 (in 6lb ex) Tim Pitt/Stevie Donohoe

11) (28) Seeking Magic (The Seekers) ht6 9-03 Clive Cox/Adam Kirby

12) (25) Arnold Lane (IRE) (Nick & Olga Dhandsa, Joe & Zoe Webster) 5-9-02 Mick Channon/Craig Williams

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13) (5) Hoodna (IRE) (Godolphin) h4-9-02 Saeed bin Suroor/Kieren Fallon

14) (7) Clear Spring (H James) 6-9-01 John Spearing/Cam Hardie (5)
15) (10) Boomerang Bob (IRE) (R J Tufft) 5-9-00 Barry Hills/Seb Sanders

16) (16) Flyman (George Murray) b4-9-00 Richard Fahey/Jack Garrity (5)

17) (23) Discussiontofollow (IRE) (D Spratt) 4-9-00 (in 6lb ex) Mike Murphy/Shane Kelly

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18) (2) Muthmir (IRE) (Hamdan Al Maktoum) 4-9-00 (inc 6lb ex) William Haggas/Dane O’Neill

19) (1) Ballesteros (Dr Marwan Koukash) 5-8-13 Richard Fahey/Martin Lane

20) (9) Fairway To Heaven (IRE) (Palatinate Thoroughbred Racing Limited) 5-8-12 Michael Wigham/Jack Mitchell

21) (27) Expert (IRE) (Julie Wood) 3 8-12 Richard Hannon/Pat Dobbs

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22) (20) Joey’s Destiny (IRE) (Delancey) 4-8-11 George Baker/Martin Dwyer

23) (17) Zero Money (IRE) (Seventh Lap Racing) b8-8-11 Hugo Palmer/Joe Fanning

24) (6) Barracuda Boy (IRE) (Laurance Bellman) v4-8-11 Tom Dascombe/Richard Kingscote

25) (22) Intrinsic (Malih Lahej Al Basti) 4-8-11 Robert Cowell/Richard Hughes

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26) (12) Borderlescott (James Edgar & William Donaldson) 12-8-11 Robin Bastiman/Tom Queally

27) (4) Bear Behind (IRE) (Bellman, Black, Marantelli, Owen) 5-8-11 Tom Dascombe/Jenny Powell (7)

28) (24) Mar Mar (IRE) (Godolphin) h4-8-10 Saeed bin Suroor/Oisin Murphy