1m Qatar Sussex Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series) (Class 1) (3yo+)
Taking on Baaeed is fraught with danger but Goodwood is a sharp mile that often more closely resembles a 7f contest, and it’s turning nature can produce hard luck stories. He’s also not come up against the three-year-olds yet and it wasn’t so long ago they were being hailed a top-class crop. I wouldn’t have expected to see Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and French Guineas winner MODERN GAMES chalked up at 20/1 (and significantly bigger on the Exchange) if you’d have asked me in May, but two subsequent defeats have taken the gloss off his profile. Stall 13 and 10f was far from ideal in the French Derby and the winner has gone on to frank the form in style. That was no bad run and his 7f defeat by Tenebrism next time out wasn’t either – for all he didn’t look to run his best race. English Guineas winner Coroebus wasn’t declared, leaving Modern Games as Godolphin’s number one, and he should get things his own way from stall one. Ultimately it’s a value play and 20/1 is big.
1pt win Modern Games @20/1, 15:35 Goodwood, Wednesday
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