Ryan Moore talks about his four rides with good chances at Goodwood and also thinks racegoers being allowed back into tracks is a step in the right direction for horse racing.
Saturday – Goodwood
13:50 – Prado
She did it very nicely on her debut on fast ground at Salisbury, and the form looks decent enough with the experienced runner-up going one better in a nursery last time. Of course, she will have different conditions to cope with here as she steps up markedly in class – and the bare form of her win leaves her with a lot to find in this Group 3 – but of course the potential is there after just the one run.
14:25 – Breath Of Air
He is a horse I know well. He would probably prefer better ground but he has form with ease, and he only just got touched off at Haydock last time. He has gone up 1lb for that, but that small rise was to be expected and he clearly has his chance. The better the ground, the better his chance.
In good nick but Benbatl is the one to beat
15:35 – Regal Reality
All the form horses in here would like better ground than they are likely to get, and I imagine we might lose one or two to the weather by Saturday afternoon if we get more rain. My horse would certainly like it quicker, but he ran well in soft ground when third in the Wolferton first time up and he was back to form when winning well in a first-time visor at Salisbury last time.
Hopefully, he is in the same nick here and can handle conditions better than most, but Benbatl is clearly the horse to beat on form. He is rated 125 and he deserves to be on that level.
Solid each-way chance – Ryan Moore rides
16:10 – Frontispiece
He has run two solid races this season. I rode him when he was second at Newmarket on his comeback and he occupied the same position at Newbury last time, when he met an improver and finished nicely clear of the third. He has gone up 1lb for that defeat, but he still gets into this 0-85 off his revised mark of 87, and he will enjoy the ground. He has another solid each-way chance.
Green light for racegoers a vital development
It is obviously great news that racegoers are set to get back on track, with the four-day St Leger meeting, starting at Doncaster on September 9, one of those chosen for the Government-approved trials and pilot schemes for sports.
I don’t think it will make that much difference to jockeys on a professional and working level, to be honest.
However, personally, I am delighted that that we have crowds back. There is no upside whatsoever to empty racecourses, and I prefer the atmosphere racegoers and owners generate.
I imagine the jockeys will still have to abide by the same strict distancing protocols that we have been racing under behind closed doors – as will the racegoers by the sound of it – so it will continue to be business as usual in that respect.
But, of course, it is vital and to be welcomed that crowds are back for the financial health of the sport.
And it is essential that we get all owners who want to attend back through the gates. They have been some of the big losers in all of this, not being able to see their horses at first hand in anything approaching a normal racing environment.
From a jockeys’ perspective, racing doesn’t necessarily need crowds to operate as a sport. We see that at plenty of all-weather meetings, and the racetrack is a place of work for jockeys.
However, for the finances of the sport and the enjoyment and engagement of all its participants, Wednesday’s news was obviously a crucial development, and a big step in the right direction.
Fingers crossed the health of the nation allows us to get back to something approaching normality now.
Ryan Moore was speaking to Betfair.
