Jack Nicol's Tote Placepot tips for Glorious Goodwood

We're off to Goodwood this Saturday for the final day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival. It's been a Glorious week of action on the Sussex Downs and we can look forward to further Group-race action as well as the feature Stewards' Cup run over six furlongs.

There's more on the feature event below but I've got a perm consisting of 48 lines to consider for Saturday's card. Best of luck with whatever you're playing for your £250,000 guaranteed Placepot.

Just five runners go to post for the opening Group 3 Glorious Stakes and it looks a trappy affair.

Al Aasy tops the ratings from a mark of 113 but there is just 1lb separating the other quartet who come rated 108 or 109 respectively. The first-named has been fragile throughout his career and is clearly a quirky customer, and may now be vulnerable to younger legs as a seven-year-old.

Phantom Flight had his measure at Newbury a fortnight ago and put up a career-best effort in doing so on stable debut for George Scott. Both horses were having their seasonal reappearance on the day, so both should come on again for the outing, but I think there's more scope for improvement with the five-year-old who shapes like this step up in trip will suit.

I am loathe to go with just one selection despite the low turnout and will add the consistent Aimeric to hopefully ensure safe passage to leg two. The five-year-old has taken his form to another level this season and absolutely relishes summer ground. Providing Goodwood avoids any thunderstorms, he looks set to run another big race. 

Align The Stars was a non-runner in the Group 3 Gordon Stakes on Thursday due to the ground and he reroutes into handicap company here. This looks a much more suitable and realistic assignment for the three-year-old, despite taking on his elders for the first time, who has improved as the season has progressed and has risen 20lb in the handicap in the process. A mark of 99 might not be at the ceiling of his ability just yet, especially with forcing tactics seeing victories on his last two starts.

True Legend also looks a smart play for your Placepot. The four-year-old has generally been a model of consistency since moving into handicaps and has been knocking on the door so far this season. He just failed to get up over this course-and-distance three starts ago and looks sure to go well once again. 

Just one selection is needed for the Group 2 Lillie Langtry Stakes and that is Caius Chorister.

Connections wisely opted to avoid Kyprios in the Group 1 Goodwood Cup earlier in the week with a view to running here and she holds obvious claims, particularly on her form over her last six starts. Admittedly, you have to forgive her run last time out in the Gold Cup, but she was too keen over the marathon trip and returns to her optimum distance on this occasion. Providing the going stays on the quicker side, it is hard to see her out of the frame.

Free Wind is undoubtedly a classy mare in her own right but has found winning quite difficult of late and was well-beaten when sent off a warm favourite in this race 12 months ago, albeit on desperate ground.

Caius Chorister is my nap of the day on Saturday.

I love these sprint handicaps and hope to replicate the 1-2-3 in the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot when I put up on this article back in June.

There isn't too much pace here and it looks to be spread across the field, so, at this stage, there doesn't seem to be too much of a bias either way, although my preference has historically been to favour the higher numbers.

With that in mind, I can see Apollo One up there throughout on the near-side rail as he looks to go one better than his excellent runner-up effort behind Aberama Gold in this race 12 months ago. He continues to hit the crossbar in these top sprint handicap and is 5lb higher than last year's renewal, but is likely to run his race once again and will enjoy the faster ground.

Lethal Levi is in the form of his life at present, running what was arguably a career-best when stepping up to seven furlongs last month to finish second in the valuable Bunbury Cup at Newmarket. He's found extra since being fitted with blinkers on his last three starts and is another I can see getting loose on the front end and may be difficult to peg back. From stall 8 he'll be blazing a trail over on the far side or through the middle of the track under Clifford Lee.

Rumstar completes the Placepot attack in the Stewards' Cup. The four-year-old will be remembered for anticipating the break and unseating his rider at the start in last year's renewal, so we must hope for a better break this time around. He's been sliding down the weights since then before a good second behind the aforementioned Lethal Levi at Newbury in May. I'm happy to write off his Ascot run last time out as an anomaly and he can be expected to show much better at a track where he was victorious as a juvenile.

Ballymount Boy is an interesting contender in this seven furlong handicap for three-year-olds in leg five.

The colt is making his handicap debut here and I think he could prove a class apart form a mark of 102, especially with Adrian Keatley's string in top form at present. The son of Camacho chased home the top-class Vandeek in the Group 2 Richmond Stakes at this meeting 12 months ago and has been racing exclusively in Stakes company following his maiden success in July of last year.

The eye was drawn to him in a Group 3 event at Newcastle following a 70-day break last month, breaking slowly but staying on strongly past talented rivals late in the day in a race which has been working out well subsequently. 

Qirat goes in to add further depth and I think he's worth another go, especially now dropping back in trip. I'm not sure he has fully seen out the mile on his last two goes and a reproduction of his impressive course-and-distance victory here in May would surely see him in the mix.

We close out the Placepot with the toughest race on the card, the juvenile maiden over seven furlongs.

With limited form to go off, the debut effort of Angelo Buonarroti takes the eye, with the €1,000,000 breeze-up purchase having been sent off 16/1 for the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot. It was a promising effort to boot with the colt knowing his job on introduction and finishing within three lengths of the winner in ninth position. Granted natural improvement, he should be one of the major players here.

Consolidation, another breeze-up graduate, has shown a useful level of form in two starts to date, particularly when runner-up at Doncaster last time out. The front trio pulled clear on Town Moor that day, with the third horse adding substance to the form with a very impressive Newmarket victory just a fortnight later. For Placepot purposes, it's hard to leave him out. Good luck!