Glorious Goodwood Wednesday Preview Part One

After a scintillating first day's action, and a few solid selections posted in this very blog, we're back to the turf at Goodwood as virtually everybody is waiting with bated breath for the latest appearance from the world's best thoroughbred horse. Frankel has scared off every competitor of note except for an upstart Godolphin colt with nothing to lose, along with an outside contender and Bullet Train – Frankel's usual pacemaker.

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We'll begin by checking out the first race, a Class 2 handicap going a very long 2m5f. The going is currently listed as good with the specific details being described as “Running rail on lower bend dolled out 6yds from the 6f mark to winning post increasing distances by approx 10yds; running rail on top bend dolled out 3yds increasing distances by approx 5y.”

Cape Express just conquered a pair of handicap hurdles contests but has been relatively resilient on the flat as well – an active handicapper, he's shown enough versatility to get the job done on more than one occasion. He'll get the distance and he's in-form – with a clean trip he should get home here. Trovare was a beaten favourite last time out and deserves respect – extremely well-bred, by Smart Strike out of a Dynaformer mare, he looks to have turned a bit of a corner and could kick on here.

The second contest of the day is the Group 2 Veuve Clicquot Vintage Stakes. Olympic Glory, aptly-named, is the top weight here and boasts a solid record, having already conquered a Group 2 contest at Newmarket just two weeks ago when switching back to Richard Hughes. He finished a respectable second in the Coventry Stakes at Ascot and broke his maiden at first time of asking.

The horse he just nipped on the line in his last outing was none other than Birdman, who lines up here seeking his revenge. He's taking money and will likely go off slightly shorter than his 6/1 price might initially suggest.

Punters are also backing off of the Dettori mount in this one and are opting for Tha'ir in greater numbers as many appear confident that Silvestre De Sousa has gotten the preferred contender. He floats at 13/2, though has steamed from 5/1.

Ghurair, off nothing more than an impressive maiden score, is the prohibitive 2/1 favourite and looks to be over-bet.