Goodwood Saturday

THE ground turned very soft at Goodwood on Saturday after overnight rain, with most jockeys calling it heavy, and that should be borne in mind when assessing the form.

Wonderful Tonight was the star on Saturday’s Goodwood finale as she put her rivals to the sword in the Group 2 Lillie Langtry Stakes for trainer David Menuisier and jockey William Buick.

The 4/5 favourite raced keenly behind the front-running Makawee, and Buick sent the four-year-old, winner of the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, to the front almost half a mile out in the one-and-three-quarter-mile contest.

The favourite soon had the race in safe keeping, although she was paddling a bit in the final furlong, and was closed down late by Tribal Craft (Andrew Balding/Oisin Murphy), who was two lengths in arrears at the finish.

David Menuisier joked about swerving the shorter Nassau Stakes so that Emma Banks – a close friend of Wonderful Tonight’s owner Chris Wright – could win with Lady Bowthorpe, but it’s unlikely that he will ask his star filly to race over this trip again:

“Wonderful Tonight won a Group 1 over a mile and six furlongs last year, and she is a lot stronger this year” he said, “but William came back in and said please don’t run her over the trip again, it really is the end of the world for her.

Down in trip

“You kind of have to break her stride the whole way, as she wants to go. She probably has more speed than last year. You could probably get away with dropping her down in trip, rather than stepping her up.

“She will probably have a run in the Yorkshire Oaks or at Deauville (Prix Pomone) next. She will then go for the Prix Vermeille before the Arc.”

David Menuisier later booked Olivier Peslier to ride the filly in the Arc, with Buick needed for the Godolphin runners.

Buick confirmed that the trip was plenty far enough for Wonderful Tonight, adding: “To be honest, she races how she always does. She’s energetic and I was delighted to get a lead on her. We went slow and she took it up a fair way out but has stuck on all the way to the line.

“She has got a bit stronger since last year and with that she has probably got a bit quicker. This trip probably stretches her a bit now but she’s very good, so she has got the job done.

“I think she is a different filly to last year. She has more pace, is more consistent and is just better. She is a very good mover so there is no real reason why she should want soft ground. Her form suggests she is better on it, but if it was good to soft or good ground, I wouldn’t be worried.”

Asked about her prospects in the Arc itself, Buick was optimistic: “If the ground came up like this, she is a class filly and you would have to give her a chance. She won a good Hardwicke, was impressive that day, and is now unbeaten in her last four races at Group 1 or Group 2 level.”

Dods delights in Stewards Cup win

COMMANCHE Falls (Michael Dods/Connor Beasley) had to prove himself on the ground, but the gelding – a half-brother to connections’ Group 3 winner Dakota Gold – put up a career-best performance to land the valuable Stewards’ Cup from the fast-finishing Gulliver (David O’Meara/Adam Kirby), the 10/1 shot holding on by a neck.

This win represented the biggest payday in Beasley’s career, and the pinnacle of his comeback from dreadful injuries sustained in a fall at Wolverhampton six years ago.

In one of the more amusing episodes of the week, part-owner Ian Davison collected the wrong silverware after racing, leaving Chris Wright to believe that his Nassau Stakes Trophy had been stolen, before the misunderstanding was cleared up the following day.

Honours

It was quite a week for jockey William Buick, who got married on Sunday, and being crowned leading rider for the Qatar Goodwood Festival was the perfect start to that happy weekend.

He rode seven winners at the meeting including the brilliant fillies Suesa in the King George Stakes and Wonderful Tonight in the Lillie Langtry.

Leading trainer was the increasingly impressive Andrew Balding, for whom Alcohol Free was the star; he saddled five winners at the festival, including a 109/1 double on Saturday to leapfrog Richard Hannon in the standings.

Around The Tracks

THERE were a couple of listed races on a quiet weekend away from Goodwood, with the Chalice Stakes at Newmarket, for fillies over a mile and a half, going the way of Oaks fourth Save A Forest (Roger Varian/Callum Shepherd), beating Godolphin’s Sayyida by half a length.

The daughter of Kingman, who races in the familiar Gredley Family colours, has a number of Group 1 entries, including the Yorkshire Oaks and the St Leger, and while much more will be needed at that level, she is a likeable sort, who ought to do better for a test of stamina, with the Park Hill Stakes (the Fillies’ St Leger, as it’s traditionally known) at Doncaster a realistic option.

AT Chester on Sunday, connections of the Stewards’ Cup winner were denied a quick double when old warrior Judicial (Julie Camacho/Callum Rodriguez) bounced back from a couple of lacklustre runs to beat Dakota Gold by two lengths in the Queensferry Stakes.

This was a 17th career win for the nine-year-old, and he looked as good as ever in achieving it, which is a great compliment to Camacho and her husband Steve Brown, who have done such a good job maintaining his enthusiasm.