Friday Racing Tips: Gosden filly to strut her stuff at Goodwood

Flat racing takes centre stage on Friday and it's the classy card at Goodwood that's centre of attention for me.

All three of my Friday racing tips - including an unexposed John & Thady Gosden making her handicap debut - come from the West Sussex venue.

14:25 Goodwood - Manxman @ 10/3

There are plenty of horses with chances in this competitive staying handicap and Simon & Ed Crisford’s runner MANXMAN is certainly one of them. He was progressive last term and managed to win five times after switching to handicaps.

That run included a brilliant four-timer, after which he shot up the handicap by 24lb. The last of those victories came over 2m1f at Pontefract off a mark of 75 and he had plenty in hand that day. He only just failed to get up on his seasonal reappearance and the extra two furlongs should also help.

Robert Havlin is on board once again and his record on this horse reads ‘11112’, which is another reason to expect another big run from this son of Cracksman.

The yard’s form is a slight concern but bad runs almost always end at some point and Manxman could be the one to change their luck.

*Place a win or each way single on any of the nominated races on the specified day. If your selection finishes 2nd we will give you your win stake back in Free Bets up to £10 to use on any Horse Racing market.

15:00 Goodwood - Strutting @ 5/1

STRUTTING made her debut at Sandown in September and she looked badly in need of the experience when beating only one horse home. Slowly into her stride, she was too keen and was always going to improve from the outing. She was second on her next start and the form of that race looks solid.

John & Thady Gosden’s filly went one better at Wolverhampton in November and the third has boosted the form by winning since. Many of the yard’s horses have needed their first runs of the season and Strutting was no different.

She finished like a tired horse in a Newmarket Listed race when last seen in competitive action and significant improvement is expected this time around. The daughter of Frankel looked a little out of her depth as well so the drop in grade might also help.

Making her handicap debut off a reasonable-looking mark of 82, she could be the one to side with. Her pedigree indicates that the step up to 1m4f will suit and her jockey takes 3lb off. We should start to see what she’s made of soon and there could be plenty more to come.

16:10 Goodwood - Be Frank @ 9/2

This is a competitive-looking 0-90 handicap and you would imagine that Saaed Bin Suroor’s impressive last-time winner Wild Tiger is likely to be the popular choice. However, Henry Candy’s runner BE FRANK looks like a good option to take him on with.

The son of Cable Bay is lightly raced for his age, having had just six starts to date and only three of those have come in handicap company. He got off the mark in a Salisbury maiden in May 2023 and followed up on his handicap debut at Wolverhampton after that.

It was a fair effort when fourth in a good race at Newmarket on his first start of the current campaign and it’s an added bonus that the handicapper has dropped him 1lb. It would be no surprise to see him get his head in front once again on Friday.