WHO says it's almost impossible to find the winner of a bookmaker sponsored, 28-runner sprint handicap run on a Saturday afternoon?
Ok, I know I usually do, but there's nothing very complicated about today's bluesquare.com Stewards' Cup, Prime Defender will carry off the six-figure prize. Or at least he will as long as long as Barry Hills' colt is in the same sort of shape that
propelled him to a highly creditable seventh place behind Marchand d'Or in the July Cup at Newmarket last time out.
Transferring Group form to handicaps isn't always as straightforward as you might think, but the selection looks to have an outstanding chance of crossing the great divide and the fact he's favourite isn't too much of a worry.
Such is the competitiveness of the event, Michael Hills's mount is still available at around the 9-1 mark which is hardly chicken feed.
Given the record of 'handicap snips', the fact he's also 9lbs better off than he will be in future might be seen as more of a negative than a positive but they can't all lose, can they?
Twelve months ago at Glorious Goodwood, Prime Defender was beaten by just three lengths in the Group 3 Audi Stakes so the course holds no fears for him and given how crucial a part the draw normally plays in the Stewards' Cup, he could hardly be better placed.
Ten of the past 15 winners of the race have been drawn high so coming from stall 19 should be ideal.
There are, naturally enough, plenty of possible dangers lurking among Prime Defender's 27 rivals with Knot In Wood looking particularly deadly.
Just as he did last year, Richard Fahey's gelding landed Hamilton's Scottish Stewards' Cup a couple of weeks back.
He went on to finish a close third in today's contest and it's not impossible to imagine him going a couple of places better on this occasion.
Borderlescott went even closer than Knot In Wood did last time, the Robin Bastiman trained, West Lothian owned flying machine failing by a whisker to notch back to back victories in a race he won in 2006.
His Goodwood record is superb but the size of the task facing him this afternoon is perhaps best judged by remembering that the last horse to win the Stewards' Cup twice was Sky Diver 40 years ago.
Even at the age of eight, Machinist has shown enough once or twice this season to prove he's no has-been but his pitch in stall seven is a worry so Prime Defender it is.
The real class event of the final day of Glorious Goodwood is the Group 1 Nassau Stakes in which Lush lashes will be out to add to her recent success at Royal Ascot.
Jim Bolger's filly boasts the best credentials in the race but the consensus of opinion after she could only finish fifth in the Oaks was that she was unsuited by the track at Epsom.
If she couldn't handle that course, there must be a slight doubt as to whether or not she'll handle this one so Heaven Sent looks a safer proposition.
Poor old Stubbs Art will be delighted to see he's not crossing swords with the mighty Henrythenavigator again as he's tried that on his last three outings and not surprisingly, has ended up with nothing more than a view of Henry's bottom. David Elsworth's charge deserves to win a decent prize and as long as the ground doesn't scupper his chances, the Premier Stakes may be it.
Finishing 14th of 23 on his latest start may not look the stuff of which winning naps are born but just watch Finnegan McCool prove otherwise.
Ralph Beckett's colt ran much better than that finishing position would indicate in the Weatherbys Super Sprint and he would have finished a lot closer had he not hit traffic problems.
He was still beaten just over five lengths and doesn't look overly burdened in the nursery.
At Hamilton Peter Monteith's string continues in good form, especially when beating one of my selections into second place which has happened more than once of late.
Time to get my own back by making Monteith's Hawkit the bet of the night at the Lanarkshire track.
The full article contains 719 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
