Goodwood Eyecatchers

ENFJAAR confirmed his class despite not getting his head in front in the Chesterfield Cup - the opening race of the festival.

He was well supported before the off, with the general consensus being that the four-year-old had improved drastically since being gelded back in November. However, the smoothness with which he won his opening two races of the season was unfortunately not parallel to the run on Tuesday. He was stuck wide for much of the race, before flying home down the outside, unable to peg back the winner who was in the box seat throughout. You can mark Enfjaar’s performance up and Roger Varian’s progressive animal is improving at a rapid rate. He shapes as though he will gain another valuable handicap, before eventually tackling group company.

It was a pleasing performance from GREGORY who finished third behind Kyprios and Sweet William in the Goodwood Cup. Whilst he is yet to taste success in the highest echelon of the staying division, it was a return to form that was needed after tailing off in the Ascot Gold Cup. He appears to be in a tricky position, as he does not have the quality of Kyprios, and has seemingly been passed in the staying division rankings by Sweet William and Giavellotto. He is too good for handicap company, and his mark of 111 means he would struggle to carry a high amount of weight. So for the time being, playing second or third string to the mighty Kyprios seems to be on the agenda, but whilst he isn’t troubling the winners' enclosure, he continues to earn some valuable place money.

LORD OF LOVE may have bumped into a Group horse in a handicap in the opening contest of day two, as he went down narrowly - by a neck - to French Duke. He is another horse who has deceptive stamina and, with the attitude he showed at Newmarket on his penultimate start, looks a smart prospect. He has won two races from his seven starts, but he has really come into his own over 10-12 furlongs, with all his form coming on sound surfaces. On this latest occasion, he was travelling like the winner, with the leading pair pulling clear of their rivals.

Finally, there was drama aplenty in the Visit Qatar Oak Tree Stakes, which saw Jabaara first past the post, before losing the race in the steward’s room to Raqiya. Away from the obvious talking points, there were a couple of hard luck stories in behind, notably VETIVER and Stop The Cavalry. As the pace began to collapse, it turned into a bit of a sprint for the runners who were held up, who had to contend with the leaders beginning to fall onto them. Vetiver was one of those inconvenienced and if he had a clear passage may have finished closer or even ahead of the winner. This horse lost his way slightly in the early stages of 2024, but has bounced back to form in tremendous style and hopefully can continue his good form.