Goodwood ante-post tips: Two handicap bets at 12-1 and 16-1

We are now just days away from the 2022 Qatar Goodwood Festival, with five days of brilliant action to look forward to on Racing TV.

Baaeed, Stradivarius, Kyprios and Nashwa are just some of the big names who are set to be on show, and the Group contests are accompanied by an abundance of ultra-competitive handicaps, plus we usually see a few potential stars in the maidens.

The ground is currently good, good to firm in places, and there doesn’t appear to be a huge amount of rain forecast ahead of Tuesday, so it’s unlikely there will be a dramatic change in conditions over the next few days.

A number of leading trainers. including the Gosdens, William Haggas, Roger Varian and George Boughey, spoke at a media event organised by Goodwood Racecourse on Tuesday about their contenders for the Qatar Goodwood Festival, and their views can be found here.

Below are a couple of fancies for two of the valuable handicaps next week – the Coral Golden Mile and the Coral Stewards' Cup - which are both chalked up at double-figure odds. They have both been confirmed as intended runners by their handlers, and both selections are worth supporting each-way. Best of luck!

Race: Coral Golden Mile Handicap – View racecard

Best odds: 12-1 (SkyBet).

This four-year-old looked a potential Group performer in a handicap when bolting up off a rating of 87 at Goodwood in May, his second start after enduring a lengthy absence, and his two outings since then have suggested he is capable of landing a valuable handicap off his 10lb higher mark.

Given his potential, it was no surprise to see him sent off the well-backed favourite for the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, but he didn’t enjoy the clearest of passages there, and was doing his best work late on, with only one rival coming home faster than him inside the final furlong.

He was ridden more prominently in the Bunbury Cup on his latest start and, although he was sent for home three furlongs out, he stuck to his task well under pressure without having the required pace to put the race to bed.

Similar to Ascot, he again hinted he would be best suited over a mile and his trainer, William Haggas, also suggested beforehand that an extra furlong may be needed.

With only five runs under his belt, there is surely lots more to come, and I am convinced this new trip will unlock further improvement, too.

He’s already proved he handles the track and, having scored on soft and good to firm, he doesn’t appear to be ground dependent, either.

Haggas, who has been operating at a strike-rate of 31 per cent in the past fortnight, confirmed on Tuesday that Montassib will be aimed at the Coral Golden Mile Handicap (run on the Friday of the Qatar Goodwood Festival) and it will be disappointing if he isn’t capable of going close again.

Race: Coral Stewards’ Cup – View racecard

Best odds: 16-1 (General).

Inver Park has been a revelation since joining George Boughey this season and took another big step forward when winning the Buckingham Palace Stakes last time out.

The four-year-old landed a Windsor handicap off a rating of 80 in May, the first leg of a hat-trick, but it was his performance at Hamilton nine days later that signalled he was developing into an above-average handicapper.

He clocked some eye-catching sectionals under top weight in that six-furlong contest, and he again showed plenty of speed at Royal Ascot, so I do not envisage the step back down in trip to be a hinderance in the Coral Stewards’ Cup.

Boughey also admitted he was slightly surprised to see his son of Pivotal score over seven furlongs and advised this race had been Inver Park’s plan even before his Royal Ascot victory.

He’s proved he handles a big-field handicap, and although he’s won on soft, his action suggests he does want better ground, especially as he has a sharp turn of foot, so connections will be hoping conditions remain as they are.

Another career-best will be needed to defy a 4lb rise at Goodwood, but he’s on a steep upward curve, and the Buckingham Palace form has been franked, so he looks a shade over-priced at 16-1 in a race that will be run to suit.