Glorious Goodwood is one of the standout festivals of the entire flat racing calendar in the United Kingdom, with five days of thrilling action taking place in the picturesque rolling Sussex countryside.
The Goodwood Cup, Sussex Stakes, Nassau Stakes, King George Qatar Stakes and Stewards’ Cup are the feature races throughout the week, offering almost £1.5 million in winning prize money.
Therefore, the best horses, jockeys and trainers from across the UK and Ireland will ascend on Goodwood’s hallowed turf with the goal of landing the lucrative purses.
That said, here are four horses that are favoured in betting on horse racing online and could be worth siding with throughout the week.
Kyprios – Goodwood Cup Stakes
Kyprios will be one of the most popular horses of the week, with racing enthusiasts eager to see the dual Gold Cup winner in the Goodwood Cup on day one of the meeting.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained horse missed the majority of last season through injury, returning late in the campaign with back-to-back second-place finishes at the Curragh and Ascot.
The six-year-old has been back in top form this season though, being eased in with a Listed victory in Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan before winning the Grade 3 Levmoss Stakes at Leopardstown.
All roads led to the Ascot Gold Cup from there, and Kyprios regained his crown with a one-length triumph over Trawlerman.
He’s already as short as 8/11 to win the Goodwood Cup for a second time, with stablemate Illinois his nearest rival in the betting at 12/1 at the time of writing.
Haatem – Lennox Stakes
Few thoroughbreds have been more consistent in the horse race results this season than Haatem, who has been in the mix of races at various levels across the campaign.
The Richard Hannon-trained horse won the Group 3 Craven Stakes at Newmarket on his reappearance in April and returned to HQ the following month to finish a very respectable third in the 2000 Guineas.
Haatem then travelled across to the Curragh for the Irish renewal of the Classic and was only beaten by a head by Rosallion in the final strides of the race.
The three-year-old picked up his second win of the season at Royal Ascot last month, edging out Kikkuli by a shorthead to win the Group 3 Jersey Stakes.
The Group 2 Lennox Stakes sees this horse’s sights heightened by Hannon, but he has every chance against the likes of fellow Ascot winner English Oak and fan favourite Kinross.
Rosallion – Sussex Stakes
A horse we have already touched on briefly, Rosallion has been one of the standout performers of the season and has a fantastic chance of adding another Grade 1 to his CV in the Sussex Stakes.
Winner of the prestigious Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Longchamp on his final run as a two-year-old, the Hannon-trained horse was second to Notable Speech in the 2000 Guineas before narrowly beating Haatem in the aforementioned Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh.
The three-year-old has since followed up his Classic success with a win in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Ascot, beating Henry Longfellow by a neck in the Grade 1, which boasts £390,000 for the winner.
The Coolmore horse looks likely to be Rosallion’s main threat again at Goodwood, but Hannon’s colt is 5/4 to get the better of Henry Longfellow once more.
Bluestocking – Nassau Stakes
From one of the standout colts of the season to one of the best fillies of 2024, Bluestocking has made huge strides in her four-year-old campaign.
Always the bridesmaid last year, finishing in the top three in five of her six starts but never getting her head over the line in first, Bluestocking is ageing like a fine wine with back-to-back Group wins so far this season.
The Ralph Beckett-trained horse made her seasonal debut in the Middleton Fillies’ Stakes at York in May and won the Group 2 contest by a commanding six lengths from the pre-race race favourite Free Wind.
Bluestocking followed that up with a win in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh last month, but Beckett is leaving his options open for the filly.
She currently holds entries in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot on July 27, as well as the Juddmonte International and Yorkshire Oaks later in August.
