HARD luck stories are as much a part of Glorious Goodwood as Panama hats and linen jackets. The picturesque – but uniquely tricky – track has lived up to its reputation last week.

It was a fabulous five days of top-quality racing with some stunning performances but, further back, there were plenty of horses to keep an eye on for the second half of the season.

Here’s half a dozen that caught my eye on the Downs.

Coltrane

The Goodwood Cup was the race of the meeting. Kyprios confirming his superiority over one of the all-time great stayers in Stradivarius, with Trueshan back in third, was one of those clashes that will be replayed for years to come.

Trueshan is sure to be a force when the hot summer is replaced by autumn rain but, back in fourth, Coltrane put in an excellent performance. Andrew Balding’s stayer hadn’t won for nearly two years before landing the Ascot Stakes at the Royal meeting and he backed it up by landing a Sandown Listed race by ten lengths.

What he did at Goodwood took his form to a new level. Something like the Doncaster Cup could be ideal as he looks to cement his place in the big time.

Maksud

Some of the handicaps at Goodwood have been stepping stones to Group races. The meeting hosts some of the hottest contests for three-year-olds and the standard looked higher than ever last week.

The 1m4f handicap won by Secret State was probably the pick of them. The winner is almost certain to make his mark in Group contests and the runner-up, Maksud, is definitely worth following too.

In just his fourth race and his handicap debut having run in the Group 3 Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot, he put in a breath-taking performance in chasing home the Godolphin star.

Hughie Morrison’s three-year-old pulled way too hard in the early stages but he was still able to finish his race well. He’ll stay further when he learns to settle and he will win good races.

Soulcombe

Further back in Secret State’s race was Soulcombe. He wasn’t well positioned in rear after fluffing the start and he had little chance trying to come from so far back. It was a decent effort to stay on into fourth without threatening the winner.

He’s a typical William Haggas project. The Newmarket trainer is one of the most patient of his trade and Soulcombe has started off in handicaps well treated after failing to hit the frame in three novice races.
After wins at Haydock and Ascot, he was attempting to complete a hat-trick of wins at Goodwood. Although it didn’t work out for him, those losses are only lent. He’s sure to stay longer distances and that makes him tailor-made for York’s Melrose Handicap.

Super Superjack

One of the unluckiest losers of the week was Super Superjack. His hold-up style of racing was always going to be a source of potential traffic problems and so it proved. He was stuck behind a wall of horses as the race got serious down the straight. By the time he got into the clear, the winner, Master Milliner, had flown.

It was another decent effort and it proved he stays extreme distances beyond 2m. The gamble might have gone astray but trainer Milton Harris, who has been in tremendous form both on the Flat and over jumps, has a horse capable of landing big pot.

That might well be in the Cesarewitch as he would only have to go up a few pounds to make the cut in that Newmarket prize.

Lost Angel

The step up to Listed and Group races seemed beyond Lost Angel when she took a rise in grade following a defeat of smart Pillow Talk at Nottingham in the spring.

She returned to slightly calmer waters in a 6f nursery at Goodwood on Friday. Although she couldn’t land much of a blow on the leaders at the finish, she ran with plenty of promise.

The race was dominated by those drawn on the stands’ side. In finishing sixth, Clive Cox’s youngster was the first home of those runners drawn in single-figure stalls. There should be opportunities for her over the coming weeks in similar races.

Annaf

The draw had a major impact on the Stewards’ Cup over the same 6f distance as Lost Angel’s race on Friday. The low numbers had little chance in a race dominated by those sprinters on the stands’ side.
Annaf had it all to do from stall five, but he was coming with a decent-looking challenge two furlongs from home before being squeezed out and knocked right back.

Jockey Jim Crowley wisely eased him down and he beat just three horses home. He is so much better than that. There are few better trainers than Mick Appleby and he should be able to pick up some nice races with Annaf in the coming months.