Toormore Too Strong In Lennox Stakes

Glorious Goodwood gets underway on Tuesday where the Channel 4 cameras will be on hand for all five days, and punters looking to get off to a good start have the ideal opportunity via the Group 2 Lennox Stakes (3.05).

This 7f event has proven kind to investors down the years, with all bar one of the last 10 winners having returned at 7/1 or shorter, suggesting backers should stick to the first four of five runners in the betting.

One such runner likely to be in that bracket is John Gosden’s, Gregorian, who went into the notebook by finishing third in the Group 1 July Cup at Newmarket several weeks ago (6f, good to soft).

What was so eyecatching that day was the fact this 5yo was drawn on the ‘wrong’ side of the track, yet still managed to get within over 1l of Slade Power in third.

As a three-times 7f winner, including a Group 2 last summer, he will enjoy the return to 7f, though the only concerns are that he failed to make the top four in two previous visits here, along with the widest draw in stall 10.

Course Specialists
One who has shone here in the past is Richard Hannon’s, Toormore – a Group 2 winner over C&D 12 months ago (good to soft). Despite a Group 1 victory two months later, things haven’t gone to plan during his last two outings, though a possible return to front running around here could see him bounce back.

Hannon also has Professor, who was beaten 3l into seventh by Garswood in this race last season. There is no reason why Professor should reverse that form, though Garswood himself hasn’t won a race since victory 12 months ago, including when a 1l runner-up in a Newmarket Group 3 last month behind Gregorian (7f, soft).

Winning form
Four of the last 10 Lennox winners were last time out winners, which bodes well for Glory Awaits, runner-up in the 2,000 Guineas last season behind Dawn Approach, before finally back on the winning trail in Listed company a few weeks aback (7f, good to firm). With confidence restored, he could go well at decent odds.

German raider, Amarillo, is another last time winner, having triumphed in a Group 3 over 6f a month ago (good), which came after a 7f Group 3 win in May (good). This 5yo likes to be held up, however, and will need good steering from stall 1 on the inside via a jockey without much experience here.

Elsewhere, Es Que Love was 1/2l third in a Group 3 sprint a fortnight ago (6f, good) and stays this trip, but is a regular “non-winner” via of a record of just 4-47.

Trends Summary

Of the last 14 Lennox Stakes winners…

All 14 winners were 3-5yo’s; those older were 0-27.
13 won in Pattern class, where 11 took a Group 2 or 3.
13 were officially rated 108 or higher.
12 raced during the past two months – eight at Royal Ascot, where two won the Jersey Stakes, including Tariq who escaped a penalty. However, those that carried a penalty have a decent record.
12 won over this 7f trip.
11 made the top two during their last two starts.
Godolphin (Saeed Bin Suroor), Richard Hannon and Marcus Tregoning all notched a pair.

Recommended Bets

With 3yo’s boasting a tremendous record in this race via a record of 6-27 at 22% (other age-groups 4-73, 5%),

this could go the way of Toormore, who could lead them a merry dance if allowed his head in front.