High-class entries are unveiled today for the two very valuable heritage handicaps staged at the Qatar Goodwood Festival - the £250,000 Qatar Stewards' Cup over six furlongs on Saturday, July 30 and the £150,000 Betfred Mile, run on Friday, July 29.
Weights for both contests will be unveiled on Wednesday, July 6, while there is a scratchings stage on July 12.
The maximum field for the Qatar Stewards' Cup is 28, while 20 may line up for the Betfred Mile.
Qatar Stewards' Cup
Outback Travellerand Brando headline 115 entries for the Qatar Stewards' Cup on the fifth and final day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, Saturday, July 30.
The historic six-furlong heritage handicap carries prize money of £250,000, making it one of the richest handicaps in Europe.
Outback Traveller (Robert Cowell) and Brando (Kevin Ryan) clashed in the Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot, with the former coming out on top by a head. The last horse to capture the Wokingham and Qatar Stewards' Cup in the same season was Knight Of Mercy in 1990.
'Sprint king' Robert Cowell has five entries in total, including Group Two scorer Green Door, Toofi, who was runner-up last year when trained by Roger Varian, and lightly-raced French recruit Exceed The Limit.
Golden Steps (Marco Botti) narrowly missed the cut for last year's race but made no mistake in the consolation race, the Qatar Stewards' Sprint, when staying on strongly to win by a length and a half.
The five-year-old has had a light campaign so far this year and was last seen out finishing third in a handicap over an extended seven furlongs at Chester on May 28.
Botti explained: "The Qatar Stewards' Cup is the plan for Golden Steps providing all goes well between now and then.
"He is going to run in the Bunbury Cup [Newmarket, July 9] first and then we will drop him back to six furlongs at Goodwood. He seemed to appreciate the extra furlong last time but he handled Goodwood very well when winning the consolation race last year.
"He is more relaxed compared to last year and that is why he is staying further. I think six or seven furlongs is fine for him, especially when he gets a strong pace."
Other notable entries include Royal Ascot disappointment Log Out Island (Richard Hannon), progressive mare Ridge Ranger (Eric Alston), who annexed a Listed contest at Nottingham in May, and rejuvenated seven-year-old Duke Of Firenze (David Griffiths).
Betfred Mile
There are 89 entries for the Betfred Mile, up two on last year's figure.
Belgian Bill (George Baker) and Basem (Saeed bin Suroor), who are both 16/1 with Betfred, finished first and third respectively in 2015 and are entered again, while another previous winner engaged is the 2014 scorer Red Avenger (66/1, Gary Moore).
Basem is owned by Godolphin, which has six entries in total. The Godolphin half-dozen also includes this season's Lincoln Handicap winner Secret Brief (16/1, Charlie Appleby) and Best Of Times (14/1, Saeed bin Suroor), who was runner-up in the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes at Goodwood last year.
One horse with the Betfred Mile firmly on his agenda is Ice Slice (James Eustace). The five-year-old, a 25/1 chance with the race sponsor, has been a revelation this season, rising 17lb in the ratings.
After finishing fourth on his seasonal debut, the Dark Angel gelding has rattled off a sequence of four victories, the first two at Brighton, followed by Nottingham and Haydock Park.
Newmarket-based Eustace, who saddled the 1993 Betfred Mile winner Philidor, commented: "The Betfred Mile is certainly a race we are looking at for Ice Slice. He is due to run again at Haydock on Friday evening. To win five races in a row is asking a lot but he is in good form and if he could win again, I hope he would go up enough to get in at Goodwood.
"The problem these days is you have to be so highly-rated to get in. I think the bottom-weight in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot was 100, which is amazing really.
"If he does have a big handicap in him, I personally think the Betfred Mile could be the one. It is a sharp mile at Goodwood and he is proven on that sort of track. I was actually pleased really that he didn't get in the Royal Hunt Cup because I would have had to have a go and it would have been too stiff a mile for him.
"I think he has just matured and come to himself as a five-year-old. Last spring, he worked like a nice horse and just didn't have the year I hoped he'd have. Things just didn't go right for him really.
"Ryan Tate has also really helped the horse. He totally disregarded me at Brighton one day and made the running. He was quite right to do so - the two races he won before he was held up but it turns out if he is in front, he is very hard to get by.
"The Betfred Mile would be a nice prize to win. We won it 23 years ago with Philidor - that makes me feel old!"
Sandown Park handicap scorer Mutamakkin (Sir Michael Stoute) heads Betfred's market at 12/1, closely followed by 14/1 chances Best Of Times, Jailawi (Ismail Mohammed) and Haalick (Roger Varian).
Other entries include high-class Here Comes When (20/1, Andrew Balding), a dual Group Two scorer, and Bronze Angel (20/1, Marcus Tregoning), twice successful in the Betfred Cambridgeshire at Newmarket.
Betfred Mile - Betfred prices:
12/1 Mutamakkin; 14/1 Best of Times, Jailawi, Haalick; 16/1 Basem, Muwaary, Carry On Deryck, Secret Brief, Third Time Lucky, Belgian Bill, Donncha, Azraff, One Word More, Peril, Tabarrak, Gabrial's Kaka, Atlantic Sun; 20/1 Jallota, Chil The Kite, Here Comes When, You're Fired, Kelinni, Bronze Angel, Master The World, White Lake, Mutawathea, Instant Attraction, Celestial Path, Felix Leiter, Glory Awaits, Keystroke, Examiner, Franklin D, Grand Inquisitor , Balmoral Castle, Yattwee, Arcanda, Pick Your Choice, Out And About; 25/1 Dark Emerald, Bossy Guest, Hors de Combat, Muffri'Ha, What About Carlo, Earth Drummer, Sirius Prospect, Can't Change It, Knight Owl, Above N Beyond, Si Senor, Ice Slice, Afjaan, Outlaw Country; 33/1 Lat Hawill, Imshivalla, Room Key, Gold Prince, Fieldsman, Zhui Feng, Spring Offensive, Mohab, The Warrior, Chevallier, Heatstroke, Manson, Oh This Is Us; 40/1 Emell, Boomshackerlacker, Melvin The Grate, Wilde Inspiration, Jack's Revenge, Palawan, Whitman, Ode To Evening, King's Pavilion; 50/1 Solar Deity, Enlace, Outer Space, Czech It Out, Beaverbrook, Riflescope, Laidback Romeo, Goring, Alcatraz; 66/1 Red Avenger, Montsarrat, Welford, Bathos, Boots And Spurs
Each-way 1/4 odds a place 1-2-3-4. Antepost rules apply
