ALTHOUGH Jimmy Fortune has pledged to keep out of trouble with the Stewards, he may still need to be at his most forceful in order to get John Ferneley ahead in the William Hill Mile at Goodwood today.
Fortune's aggressive style has not always pleased the Jockey Club's disciplinary panel who have in turn slapped a series of suspensions on the talented rider over the past few seasons.
However in a race with a prize fund totalling £100,000 no quarter is asked or given so I expect Jimmy will be giving it his all aboard the strapping five-year-old.
Paul Cole's powerhouse collected the Lincoln at Doncaster in March prior to chasing home Caribbean Monarch in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot.
A proven performer in this type of top one-mile handicap company, John Ferneley (3.50) appears to have been saved specifically for this contest and has also been lucky with the draw, coming out of the hat with a perfect position against the far rail in stall 22.
In the preceding Goodwood Cup, the absence of recently retired Kayf Tara plus late defector Double Eclipse is a terrible disappointment.
Nevertheless there are some pretty decent stayers on show, including 1999 Ascot Gold Cup hero San Sebastian, Chester Cup winner Rainbow High, the game and genuine Three Cheers, and northern raider Royal Rebel.
I've always had faith in Rainbow High (3.20), lightly-raced this term having been under a cloud in keeping with the majority of the horses trained by Barry Hills.
Now that the Hills' team are beginning to fire, the time is ripe for Rainbow High to grab the most important success of his career to date.
Much nearer to home at Sedgefield, Craigary (2.30) is fancied to get punters off to a flyer in the John Brooker 90th Birthday Selling Handicap Hurdle.
Craigary, a previous track and trip winner, warmed up nicely with an encouraging third in a novice chase at the course a fortnight ago.
Major Sponsor appears to be in a different league to the opposition in the Handicap Chase at 3.35.
In search of a much longer-priced winner My Buster (5.20) will in all probability start at double-digit odds for the closing Stan James Handicap Hurdle having been pulled up on his two most recent outings.
For my money he actually didn't run too badly at Southwell where he was in contention for the place money until tiring at the second last obstacle.
l Leading lady rider Thirsk-based Alex Greaves will face the Jockey Club disciplinary committee today after testing positive for diuretics at Newcastle.
Analysis of the sample Miss Greaves, 32, gave at Gosforth Park on March 28 confirmed the presence of a diuretic
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