Epsom trainer Michael Attwater is launching a double-barrelled assault at Goodwood tomorrow Sunday, September 12, with L’Hirondelle and Salient among the contenders for this season’s Racehorse Owners’ Association Speed Bonus.
Successfully staged for the first time last year, this tremendous innovation lucratively rewards the fastest ROA-registered horse to compete during the seven-race card, with a guaranteed bonus of £14,400.
Both of Attwater’s horses head to Goodwood in good form. L’Hirondelle lines up in the seven-furlong TurfTV For Betting Shops Bonus Handicap (5.30pm) after coming third in the valuable London Mile Handicap Series Final at Kempton on September 4, while Salient, who contests the mile goodwood.com Bonus Handicap (3.10pm), was a close fourth over the course and distance at Goodwood on Tuesday.
Attwater reported: “L’Hirondelle put up a career best effort in the London Mile at Kempton Park last weekend and he is able to run off a mark 8lb lower on the turf. He is very lightly-raced on turf and he was runner-up at Goodwood last month, so we know that he handles the course.
“He is stepping down to seven furlongs because he travels very strongly in his races and seven is far enough with a bit of juice in the ground. He has had his share of problems but seems to be more consistent nowadays and, if he can reproduce last Saturday’s run, then he would have an outstanding chance of winning.
“Salient ran a very solid race at Goodwood on Tuesday with a big weight on his back. He always seems to run well at the course and will enjoy any cut in the ground. On the back of his latest run, he could also go close on Sunday.
“We looked at the last couple of meetings at Goodwood and the times suggested that the races over seven furlongs and mile are the most likely ones to produce a fast time, especially with a bit of cut in the ground. It’s harder to get a strong pace over further and you are more likely to get a faster gallop over a shorter trip.
“Both horses go to Goodwood on the back of good runs and are fit and healthy at the moment. With a little of bit of luck on our side, we might just do enough to scoop the bonus.”
A total of 14 horses are eligible for the Speed Bonus, with Dove Cottage lining up in the opening 12-furlong toteswinger Bonus Handicap (2pm) and Tipsy Girl among the field for the seven-furlong Nick Brooks Nursery (2.35pm). Salient will take on Docofthebay, Flipping and Mujood in the goodwood.com Bonus Handicap (3.10pm), with Jubail contesting the 10-furlong TurfTV Bonus Handicap (3.45pm).
Rocker and Speak The Truth feature among the runners for the six-furlong Goodwood Revival 17th-19th September Bonus Handicap (4.20pm), with Alnwick and Boston Blue contesting the two-mile Racing UK on Sky 432 Bonus Handicap (4.55pm). L’Hirondelle faces Michael’s Nook and Thunderball in the final race of the card, the TurfTV For Betting Shops Bonus Handicap (5.30pm).
In order to qualify for the excellent initiative, horses must be at least 50% owned by an ROA member at the time of the event’s final declarations (Friday, September 10) and must also be ROA-registered. Registration for the 2010 ROA Speed Bonus was completed by Monday, September 6.
The owner of the Speed Bonus winner will receive 80 per cent of the £14,400 prize fund, the trainer 10 per cent, the jockey 5 per cent and the winning stable 5 per cent.
Goodwood Racecourse is also generously offering a separate £5,000 bonus to the fastest winning horse of the day, whether ROA-registered or not.
Goodwood’s weekend of fantastic sport kicks off today, Saturday, September 11, when field of seven goes for the feature event, the £57,000 Group Three Whiteley Clinic Select Stakes (3pm) over just short of 10 furlongs.
The line-up includes the Clive Cox-trained Poet, who landed the Group Three totesport.com Rose Of Lancaster Stakes over 10 furlongs on August 7, and popular Goodwood specialist Mac Love, who landed the spoils last year for trainer Stef Higgins.
Mirror Lake is seeking a four-timer and a Goodwood hat-trick for local handler Amanda Perrett. The three-year-old Dubai Destination filly landed the Listed Harwood Racing Club & Employees EBF Alice Keppel Handicap on August 29, having also scored over the course and distance on her previous start 17 days earlier.
Godophin trainer Saeed bin Suroor relies on recent Epsom winner Prince Siegfried, while Red Badge, successful in a Newbury Listed contest last time, represents the powerful Richard Hannon stable. The Michael Bell-trained pair, Moyenne Corniche and Mont Agel, complete the field.
The first day of the meeting also features the £35,000 RUK Starlit Stakes (3.30pm) over six furlongs and commences at 2.25pm with the ultra-competitive £15,000 Bluebay Handicap over seven furlongs.
The remaining races on the card are the mile and a half £6,000 Holts Auctioneers Handicap (4.05pm), the £6,000 EBF Buy A £10,000 Racing Post Bonus Yearling Maiden Stakes (4.40pm) over a mile, the £14,000 Terry & Geraldine Earle Handicap (5.15pm) over nine furlongs and the £5,000 Countryside Alliance Handicap (5.50pm)over five furlongs.