Charley to be Ebor darling
He is a lightly-raced son of the trainer’s Derby hero Benny The Dip and he has come on in leaps and bounds this season since being gelded in the winter.
The three-year-old kicked-off this campaign with a staying-on second over an inadequate 10 furlongs in a Windsor maiden and bolted up over a mile and a half next time at Chester from subsequent winner Lingo.
He chased home Mark Johnston’s well-regarded Legal Approach over the shorter trip before running his best race yet at Glorious Goodwood.
Gosden sent him to tackle the JP Morgan Private Bank Goodwood Cup over two miles and he ran a blinder to finish third behind Jardines Lookout and Give Notice, having looked the likely winner four furlongs from home.
It looked for all the world like he just failed to see the trip out and today’s mile and three-quarters should be absolutely ideal.
He has a nice weight on 8st 9lb but his draw in stall 21 is not ideal.
Still last year’s winner came from stall 20 so all is not lost.
It will take a good one to get past Kazzia in the Aston Upthorpe Yorkshire Oaks as she bids to retain her unbeaten record on the way to a crack the St Leger at Doncaster next month.
The German-bred Godolphin filly has been a revelation this season, grimly hanging on to land a surprise success on fast ground in the Sagitta 1000 Guineas before following up on testing ground in the Vodafone Oaks.
She has been given a nice break since then and she had her leading rivals Islington and Quarter Moon behind her at Epsom.
David Loder’s juveniles have generally been improving for a run so it was encouraging to see his Country Reel score nicely at the first time of asking.
He travelled well on his debut in a six-furlong maiden at Newmarket and there must be every prospect of him coming on plenty for that bearing the profile of his stable’s runner this term.
The Danzig colt could well make up into a smart performer and looks the one to be on in the Scottish Equitable Gimcrack Stakes.
And Sir Michael Stoute’s Leadership is the pick in the opening Motability Supported By Royal SunAlliance Rated Handicap.
He was all the rage for the John Smith’s Cup here last month and did absolutely nothing wrong for a three-year-old in finishing third to seasoned handicappers Vintage Premium and Kirovski.
His supporters can recoup there losses here.
