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Captain's Blog - Wednesday 1st August

Day one of Glorious Goodwood brought with it a double for Tom Queally, but other than that the action was unremarkable which gave us a rather subdued start to proceedings.

Today, though, things ramp up with the reappearance of Frankel. Many believe he is embarking on another lap of honour, a solo time trial if you like.

He only has one credible opponent in Farrh, who has a bit to find if he is going to be a threat, but hang on a minute why isn't he a threat? Should we just ignore his credentials as we hold up our Frankel tinted glasses? Certainly not, is the answer.

Farrh is an interesting horse and will be suited by returning to a mile after being narrowly beaten by Nathaniel in the Eclipse. He posted a speed figure in the region of 125 in the Eclipse and this is only five spots behind the figure that Frankel ran in the Queen Anne (130). That means he could get closer to Frankel than many believe. He may not beat him, but he might give him a fright.

Frankel has settled better this year, which is testament to those that ride him at home. Today he will not get much cover, other than that given to him by his pacemaker and thus it is not a completely straightforward task for Queally. He will probably settle fine and may well bolt up even if he doesn't, but my point is that with such a credible opponent as Farrh this is not a race for which he just has to turn up to win.

What we really want to see is Frankel properly tested, asked to dig deep, asked to find more than he ever has, to battle and scrap for victory. That may happen when he steps up to 10 furlongs, providing the opposition do not cower into a corner and wave their collective white flags. As for today, well, he may get more of a battle than many have bargained for courtesy of Farrh.

Given that my last two selections here on the blog have finished second I am looking to turn things around big time today. I am quite keen on Olympic Glory in the Vintage Stakes. He won despite the ground at Newmarket last time and will be much better on the ground he faces today. His turn of foot promises to be more potent today and his high cruising speed means that Richard Hughes can ride him with confidence, just as he likes to do.

Have a good day.

Today's Selection

2.35 Goodwood - Olympic Glory ( 7/2 various firms)