Glorious Goodwood

OK, I confess. This week I've been bunking off. I haven't done my homework and I haven't followed 'Glorious Goodwood' very closely at all. It's naughty, I know, but there you go. At least I'm being honest with you.

I've just picked up The Weekender and had a quick look at the Nassau Stakes. It looks 'trappy'. Trappy is a term that's used by pundits who are far more established than me; it's a euphemism for 'don't touch this race with a bargepole'. So I'm passing on the Nassau. Peeping Fawn, the top rated horse, is tempting but her action when winning last time at The Curragh looked very rounded and I'm not certain she'll handle the better ground or the course, so I'm passing on the Nassau.

If the Nassau looked trappy, the Stewards' Cup looks positively impossible. As I haven't done the homework, let me share with you how I approached the race. Protector did this blog a favour when absolutely hacking up at Newcastle a few weeks ago. I quietly fancied Protector for this race but in between times Protector was himself easily beaten at Hamilton by Richard Fahey's Knot In Wood.

Knot In Wood goes into tomorrow's race with a number of plus points. He's 6lbs well in following the Hamilton victory as the weights had already been declared; his trainer says he's his best chance in the race and he should handle the ground; he carries less than nine stones and, thought crucial in many quarters, he's been given a high draw. That's an awful lot of plus points. On the downside, there are twenty seven others running in this annual cavalry charge over six furlongs and all the plus points appear to have been recognised by the bookmakers who have priced him at 8/1. So, the question is, does 8/1 Knot In Wood look value to you? It doesn't to me, so I'll maintain a watching brief.