Could the John Smith's Cup at York prove the key to this competitive handicap?

Tuesday: 1.50 Goodwood
Coral Chesterfield Cup Handicap | 1m2f | 4yo+ | ITV/RTV

This competitive contest tends to go to a hardened handicapper who has been in the heat of battle in similar races before and the John Smith's Cup at York has been a good recent guide.

Four of the last ten winners had competed in that red-hot handicap and three of those four had finished out of the places at York. In this race, five of the 18 runners come here after a run in the John Smith's Cup and all were unplaced, with Brilliant Light doing best of them in fifth.

This year the York race looked particularly strong and the form is already working out. The second won a Listed race at York on Friday and the fourth and tenth filled the first two positions in a handicap on the same card. There is a good chance that race will be key again.

Brilliant Light was just a length ahead of Just Fine in sixth, while Caradoc (eighth), Forest Falcon (14th) and Baryshnikov (17th) were the other three who finished down the field. So how do we choose between them? Trainers and jockeys can help us find the best of the bunch.

Just Fine (left): sixth in the John Smith's Cup on his latest startCredit: David Davies (Getty Images)

Danny Tudhope partners Brilliant Light and has a good record for Saeed bin Suroor, and at Glorious Goodwood as a whole. Tudhope has four wins and six seconds for Bin Suroor in the last five seasons and 30 per cent of his mounts at this meeting have finished in the first three since 2012.

From a trainer perspective, Mark Johnston has won this four times in the last ten years and he and son Charlie run Forest Falcon and West End Charmer.

Two of Johnston's winners finished sixth in the John Smith's Cup before coming here and two bypassed that race, so maybe splitting stakes on both is the play.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

Menuisier chases Chesterfield double

David Menuisier claimed the opening handicap of the Goodwood festival 12 months ago with Migration and now bids for back-to-back wins, this time with the help of experienced handicapper Soto Sizzler.

It has been three years since the seven-year-old ran at Goodwood, where he finished ninth in this contest in 2019, but he returns to the course in fine form having seen off many of Tuesday's rivals at Epsom in June.

"He's had a very good season so far, having run well twice at at Epsom and in a strong renewal of the Gala Stakes last time, so we're trying to go handicapping again," Menuisier said.

Soto Sizzler: bids to hand Menuisier a second Chesterfield Cup on TuesdayCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Despite being the joint-oldest in the field, Soto Sizzler comes to Goodwood on a career-high rating of 106 and shoulders the top weight of 9st 12lb alongside West End Charmer.

"He beat many of these runners at Epsom recently and although he's quite highly rated in a handicap of this nature, if you handle the track it's a big plus," the trainer added.

"The track form is on our side and the horse is in good nick. He's been improving all year since the drop back to a mile and a quarter. It's our local track and we won the race last year, so it will be nice to be very competitive again."

What they say

Richard Hannon, trainer of Etonian
He ran a good race at Ascot and is in great nick. He wants this trip now and will run well.

William Knight, trainer of Moktasaab
He's in good order. I think he just ran a bit flat at Ascot as he'd only run at Epsom a couple of weeks before. I was annoyed with myself as I should have waited. He's been freshened up, he's a course-and-distance winner, and with a nice draw goes there with a really live chance.

Ed Walker, trainer of Caradoc
The ground will be perfect for him and he's run very well at the track. He's in cracking form and he's not done a lot wrong all season. If he gets a clear run with an uninterrupted shot at it, he'll take all the beating.

William Jarvis, trainer of Arqoob
Things didn't go to plan at Epsom but he ran and won very nicely at Sandown last time and came out of the race well. I'm not certain about the draw but I'm hopeful he'll be competitive.
Reporting by Catherine Macrae

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