Goodwood Festival betting and odds: Five runners who will love soft ground

Trueshan – Goodwood Cup (Tuesday)

Alan King’s stable star didn’t get his ground at Royal Ascot but compensation could be in the offing because conditions have come right for this five-year-old at Goodwood this week. Trueshan showed just what he is capable of under ideal conditions when thrashing his rivals, including Stradivarius, in the Long Distance Cup at Ascot on Champions Day last season.

That performance announced Trueshan as a big player in the staying division and he can confirm that view by dishing out another thrashing on the Sussex Downs on Tuesday.

Bounce The Blues – Oak Tree Stakes (Wednesday)

Bounce The Blues was only just behind a couple of horses rated 112 and 113 at Windsor last time, indeed the winner is running in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes on Wednesday, but Andrew Balding’s filly faces nothing of that calibre in this Group 3 contest.

Bounce The Blues, a Listed winner on soft in Ireland, has yet to strike for Balding but she would have won a Group 3 race at Lingfield in May on soft ground had she not been repeatedly denied a clear run and Oisin Murphy will be keen to make amends for that.

Ad Infinitum – Gordon Stakes (Thursday)

Ad Infinitum is a big price for Thursday’s Gordon Stakes but those odds might just underestimate her chances. The daughter of Golden Horn showed her liking for soft ground when winning a Listed contest at this track on just her second start and although she was well beaten in the Ribblesdale, the David Simcock-trained filly was too keen that day and quick ground wouldn’t have been to her liking in any case. Still completely unexposed, expect her to bounce back and outrun her lofty price.

Get Goodwood Festival odds with Grosvenor Sport here

Elysian Flame – Goodwood Handicap (Friday)

Elysian Flame ran an absolute blinder in the Ascot Stakes on ground that was surely too lively and although there will be better handicapped horses in this staying handicap, few will be so at home in these conditions.

The five-year-old is twice a winner on the Flat on heavy ground while his sole hurdles success came in soft conditions at Carlisle. This staying contest looks exactly the right spot for Elysian Flame and he could provide wiley old trainer Mick Easterby with a rare winner down at Goodwood.

Wonderful Tonight – Lillie Langtry Stakes (Saturday)

This Group 1 prize doesn’t have the same lustre as the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes but connections of Wonderful Tonight surely made the right call to pull the plug on that project at the eleventh hour and instead head to Goodwood.

Conditions on the Sussex Downs are going to be much more suitable for this improving filly who rates a strong bet to add a third Group 1 contest to her CV. She is the highest-rated filly in the line-up, is fresh having had a nice break since beating the boys in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and her versatility will stand her in good stead around Goodwood, where track position can often prove crucial.

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