Right, one last roll of the dice before we wave goodbye to another cracking summer festival. My Glorious Goodwood day 5 tips include four selections to close out the meeting. If the bookies have survived the week so far, let’s at least see if we can ruin their Saturday before everyone heads home.
My Goodwood nap of the day comes in the Glorious Stakes at 2:25 – let’s get stuck into them.
Glorious Goodwood Saturday Tips: Golden Opportunity
| Bet Type | Horse (Race) | Odds | Bookie |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best Bet | Opportunity (2:25) | 5/2 | Betfred |
| Next Best | Al Wathba (4:45) | 2/1 | Betfred |
| Strong Bet | Valedictory (1:50) | 5/2 | Betfred |
| Value Bet | Danielle (3:00) | 7/2 | William Hill |
Odds correct at 14:30 BST on 31/07/26. Odds subject to change.
Festival finales have a habit of producing one last twist. I’m hoping it’s in our favour rather than the bookies'. My Glorious Goodwood Saturday tips feature four selections, with Opportunity carrying the flag as the nap of the day.
The odds have been provided by Betfred and William Hill, two of our very best horse racing betting sites. Now all that's left is for the horses to read the script.
Don’t Forget William Hill’s Daily Racing Winnings Boost
William Hill offers a bet boost on one horse bet every day, including at Goodwood. Just pick your runner, maybe Danielle, add it to your bet slip and then select Daily Racing Winnings Boost to increase your odds. Simple.
EXPIRING:
31/07/2026
My Glorious Goodwood Best Bet
Opportunity – 2:25 (Glorious Stakes)
I have to say first of all that I love Al Aasy, the favourite for this race. He’s been a proper trooper over some eight seasons now, and he’s still been in winning form this year having taken the Charlie Wood Stakes at Beverley recently.
He’s not getting any younger though, and there’s always the lingering thought with him that he needs softer ground to be seen at his best. That’s not the case with up-and-coming William Haggas runner, Opportunity.
The Wathnan Racing gelding has been a winner for these pages twice already this season. He took the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Ascot last time, showing himself to be a very upwardly mobile four-year-old.
I’m basically backing a changing of the guard here, the in-form and improving type to beat the very popular old timer. Opportunity is the Goodwood nap, but you can also read about my other Saturday best bets given that I have information for Newmarket and Thirsk.
Why I’m Backing Opportunity
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Improving in lumps and is now ready for Group racing
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Handles fast ground and 1½ miles well
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Trainer has landed two winners and a second at Goodwood this week
Glorious Goodwood Saturday Tips: My Next Best Bet
Al Wathba – 4:45 (Maiden Stakes)
William Buick was originally jocked up at Newmarket on Saturday. He’s given up the ride on Chalice Stakes favourite Romantic Symphony to remain at Goodwood. It’s either for Valedictory, or for a certain highly regarded juvenile.
The two-year-old in question is Al Wathba, who runs in the seven-furlong colts and geldings maiden at 4:45. I can’t ignore his debut form. This son of Wootton Bassett allowed Aidan O’Brien’s experienced Haffner first run at Newmarket, but finished only one and a half lengths behind him. That colt was runner-up in the Vintage Stakes here on Tuesday.
The third horse home on the July Course has since won, while the fourth, Subscription, is very well thought of by Andrew Balding and his reappearance is highly anticipated. That form should be too strong, even with Wathnan and Coolmore runners in the field.
Why I’m Backing Al Wathba
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Very strong debut form at Newmarket
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Entered in the Group 1 National Stakes next month
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Already proven over seven furlongs on fast ground
Glorious Goodwood Friday Strong Bet
Valedictory – 1:50 (Summer Handicap)
William Buick’s first ride is on this John & Thady Gosden four-year-old for his bosses, Godolphin. He is another one who’s won for these pages when he took a valuable handicap over this one-mile, six-furlong trip at the July Festival at Newmarket.
He’s been raised only 3lbs for that, which isn’t enough to stop him, and he’s also a course and distance winner having got his season rolling here successfully back in May. Sing Us A Song, Aeronautic, and Small Fry are best of the rest.
Why I’m Backing Valedictory
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A course and distance winner
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Won a big race last time out at Newmarket
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Still improving – has much more to come
My Glorious Goodwood Value Bet
Danielle – 3:00 (Lillie Langtry Stakes)
I’m finishing up my Glorious Goodwood betting for another year with a punt in the Group 2 Lillie Langtry Stakes, a race for fillies and mares over a mile and three quarters.
A big part of this is knowing when the time’s right to change your mind. I’ve given last year’s winner Waardah a good mention in the build-up to this year’s event, but I’ve been digging deeper this week, and I think John & Thady Gosden’s Danielle is much better value.
It’s thought that both of these mares want the ground softer, but I’m not totally convinced of that. Wardaah was solid on good to firm ground on her reappearance at Carlisle, while Danielle’s time was very slow when she won at York, but that’s because it was merely a piece of work to her. The other times were about standard, so the ground was good that day.
Danielle was very game last year in a ding-dong battle to the line in this race with Wardaah, only losing out in the end by three parts of a length. Now, consider that the weight-for-age scale exists because of the assumption that three-year-olds are smaller and weaker than their counterparts. Waardah in fact was noticeably bigger than Danielle last year, and was in receipt of 10lbs. Now, these two are off level weights and that could make a huge difference.
Why I’m Backing Danielle
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Lost out narrowly last year – better off at the weights now
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In great shape having won easily York
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Always thought of as a potential Group 1 filly
