Favourites prevail in the Goodwood sunshine

It was a gorgeous afternoon for Goodwood's penultimate meeting of the season - and the favourites certainly enjoyed themselves with five of them victorious.
Gabr and Jim Crowley - nearest the camera - on their way to winning the day's feature race at Goodwood / Picture by Malcolm WellsGabr and Jim Crowley - nearest the camera - on their way to winning the day's feature race at Goodwood / Picture by Malcolm Wells
Gabr and Jim Crowley - nearest the camera - on their way to winning the day's feature race at Goodwood / Picture by Malcolm Wells

The 4/7 market leader Pablo Escobarr set the tone for the afternoon in winning the opener, the Heineken 0.0%/EBF Future Stayers' Maiden Stakes, by three-quarters of a length, with Ryan Moore on board for William Haggas.

Gabr, ridden by Jim Crowley for Sir Michael Stoute, continued the theme with a victory by the same margin after starting the 6/4 favourite in the British Stallion Studs EBF Foundation Stakes, the feature race of the day.

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And it was a favourites' hat-trick when Elasia (3/1 )won the TBA #thisfillycan Fillies' Handicap thanks to a nicely-timed charge by Andrea Atzeni on the Roger Varian-trained three-year-old

Pablo Escobarr, ridden by Ryan Moore, wins the Goodwood opener / Picture by Malcolm WellsPablo Escobarr, ridden by Ryan Moore, wins the Goodwood opener / Picture by Malcolm Wells
Pablo Escobarr, ridden by Ryan Moore, wins the Goodwood opener / Picture by Malcolm Wells

In a thrilling finish to the Birra Moretti Handicap that needed a look at the photo, 7/2 favourite Master Carpenter gave Oisin Murphy another success in a decent list of Goodwood victories for him this season, this one for trainer Rod Millman, who'd had a very long wait since his last winner on the Downs.

And the fifth outright favourite of the day to win the spoils was 9/4 chance Captain Lars who claimed the Heineken UK Apprentice Handicap under Pierre-Louis Jamin, for trainer Archie Watson.

In between 7/2 joint favourite Lady Dancealot took the Drink Warehouse UK Imperial Handicap under in-form Gerald Mosse for David Elsworth - the winner a half-sister to Sir Dancealot, who won the Qatar Lennox Stakes at this year's Glorious Goodwood for the same owner-jockey-trainer combination.

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Jockey Josephine Gordon and trainer Alan Bailey teamed up with Enigmatic (9/2) to take the Maltsmiths Optional Claiming Handicap.

Four of today's winners were tipped on this website on the morning of racingThere's just one more flat fixture left at Goodwood now - the season finale on Sunday, October 14, when Mark Johnston, fresh from breaking the record for the most winners in this country by any trainer, is set to lift the Dick Hern Trophy again for retaining his crown as Goodwood's top handler over the season.

See news of the season finale in this week's (Sep 27) Chichester Observer

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