Goodwood Preview: Grandeur set for repeat success

Grandeur looks a worthy favourite to make his class tell and land the 1m 2f Listed contest at Goodwood today (3.50) for the second year running.

The Jeremy Noseda trained gelding is a real globetrotter who finished an excellent second last time out in a Grade 2 handicap at Belmont.

The son of Verglas boasts a terrific strike rate of nine wins from 23 starts, and is also unbeaten in three runs over course and distance.

The last of those victories came in this contest 12 months ago, where Grandeur ran on strongly to beat to beat Quick Wit by 1 1/4 lengths in the hands of today’s rider Ryan Moore.

The five-year-old is officially rated 4lb and upawards clear of his rivals, and this looks a glorious opportunity for Grandeur to get back to winning ways.

Spacelab looked a smart prospect when overcoming greenness to make a winning debut and can defy top weight to follow-up in the 1m 3f handicap (3.15).

Trained locally by Amanda Perrett, the daughter of Champs Elysees stayed on strongly once the penny dropped to get up and beat Rembrandt Van Rijn at Lingfield and had a couple of well-regarded types in behind.

It was a performance which suggested Spacelab needed keeping firmly onside, and with the prospect of significant improvement to come an opening handicap mark of 80 could well prove to be on the lenient side.
Perrett looks to have leading claims of landing a double on the card courtesy of Blue Surf in the 1m 4f handicap (4.25).

The gelding was a progressive sort when winning three times in 2012, including over 1m 2f at this track, and has gone on to post some really solid efforts to be placed in competitive contests.

The five-year-old is on a long losing run, but hinted that would soon end when a cracking head runner-up to Kashgar last time out.

That race was over 2m at this venue, and Blue Surf looked the likely winner until being unable to find an extra close home.

The drop back in trip this afternoon looks sure to suit, and this represents the easiest task that Blue Surf has faced for some time.