2023 Goodwood Cup Tips & Predictions

Leading the way in the betting for this year's Goodwood Cup is Queen's Vase winner Gregory, who'll take in this Group One en route to the St Leger in September. Stablemate and Royal Ascot Gold Cup winner, Courage Mon Ami has drifted in the betting since the Gosden's confirmed that Gregory would be taking up his entry.

Coltrane followed Courage Mon Ami home at Royal Ascot and currently sits second behind Gregory in the market. Subjectivist held on from the front to finish third on his return to the Ascot Gold Cup, and Charlie Johnston's six-year-old will be hard to catch at the head of affairs.

Eldar Eldarov and Emily Dickinson have been handed Glorious Goodwood entries, despite slightly underwhelming performances in the Ascot Gold Cup. Marco Botti has entered Giavellotto, who hasn't been seen since his narrow victory in the Yorkshire Cup.

Hughie Morrison's Quickthorn and Aidan O'Brien's Broome are possible pace angles, alongside Subjectivist. Other Goodwood entrants include two more Ballydoyle runners in Bolshoi Ballet and Changingoftheguard, Ralph Beckett's Lone Eagle and Roger Teal's Ocean Wind.

Kicking off the Glorious Goodwood carnival is the Goodwood Cup.

Originating in 1812, the Goodwood Cup has since become a global racing event despite being run as a Group 2 and Group 3 race for most of its existence.

Now a Group 1 feature, the Goodwood Cup is shining on the international stage with recent winners including Big Orange, Brown Panther and Cavalryman – all of which have contested major staying races around the world.

There have been multiple winners including Double Trigger, which won three times in four years and also Yeats and Big Orange, which won twice respectively.

The Goodwood Cup is raced after the Ascot Gold Cup and before the Doncaster Cup, which gives stayers a chance to race in all three or chose their desired staying path.

Five jockeys have won the race on five occasions with Pat Eddery being the most recent in 1996 when winning aboard Great Shot.

John Scott trained seven winners in the early stages of the race, but the likes of Aidan O'Brien, Saeed bin Suroor and Mark Johnston have dominated since.

The last five years have all been about Stradivarius. John Gosden's star first won the Goodwood Cup as a three-year-old in 2017. Stradivarius then retained his title in 2018, completed a hat-trick in 2019 and defeated Nayef Road and Santiago to become the first four-time Goodwood Cup winner in 2020.

After Stradivarius was withdrawn when the ground became soft, Trueshan justified favouritism to win his first Group One in the 2021 Goodwood Cup.

The favourites have a great record in the Goodwood Cup, winning six of the last 12 editions.

Favourites to win recently include Big Orange (11/4), Saddler's Rock (2/1), Opinion Poll (9/2) and Yeats (8/15).

Apart from Yeats' two wins since 2006, punters have got better than odds-on for every favourite winning and some champion staying thoroughbreds have paid handsomely with bookmakers.

Big Orange paid 6/1 when winning his first Goodwood Cup and paid better than even money when winning it a year later.

Brown Panther was considered one of the better rising stayers at the time and punters were able to secure odds of 13/2 for the Tom Dascombe-trained runner.

The last three winners have all had three starts that season prior to running in the Goodwood Cup, with all three winning at least one race that season.

Having form at Goodwood isn't needed as Yeats, Allegretto, Saddler's Rock, Brown Panther and 2017 winner Stradivarius didn't have any experience on the track prior to winning.

Only one of the last eight winners had a Group 1 win prior to the Goodwood Cup (Cavalryman) and Brown Panther hadn't won at any group level.

The age of the winner is varied, but punters should stick to ages 4-6.