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IT IS THE final day of the Glorious Goodwood festival and the big betting heat of the week will be the Stewards’ Cup Heritage Handicap with a maximum of 28 runners firing down the six-furlong course to glory.

As always, this cavalry charge is a wide open contest with the big-betting movers of the week coming in the form of the rapidly improving Far Above Dream, who looked fairly unlucky in the Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot, and Sondad who finished ninth in that ultra-competitive handicap.

The first named had rattled off a hat-trick off marks of 87, 89 and 85, twice over this course and distance and once at Newbury before totally missing the start at the Berkshire track before running on late doors to be beaten by a length-and-a-half. I think that the handicapper has been very lenient keeping him on a mark of 99 and granted a better start, the Highfort Stud star should finish in the frame at the very least.

Sondad was even more unlucky in the same race, having been drawn on the far side of the track which had little chance with the higher-drawn runners. Still, he won his race with the rest of the low numbers and despite only finishing ninth he was only beaten four-and-a-half lengths by Double Rush. Joanna Mason is riding at the top of her form at the moment and drawn high in box number 21, she could be nicely positioned to put in a big performance here.

Both are feared, but the best overall each-way bet could well be FERROUS. This classy speedster was rated as high as 107 this time last year, but has been far from disgraced off three-figure marks this year including when fifth of 14 behind Wiltshire at Newcastle on the Tapeta surface at the beginning of the flat season, when his jockey Callum Rodriguez arguably delivered him to win his race a wee bit early. That run was off a mark of 105 and following two more outings he has slipped to a very attractive rating of just 97.

However, the biggest clue to his chance for this big handicap came when he finished a rapidly closing second in the Scottish version of this sprint at Hamilton Park when a nose behind Red Strike. That was a hugely eye-catching performance and he will get the faster pace he needs to aim at here to have a run at the very valuable first prize. All we need is for the six-year-old to get a clear run in the closing stages and I think that the assessor has been very kind to allow him to run off the same mark of 97 as at the Scottish venue.

The opening mile-and-three-quarters Summer Handicap has an interesting betting shape to it. I think that Valedictory is the correct favourite based on his narrow win over this distance at Newmarket last time out, but with just a 3lbs penalty to his name and more improvement to come he looks a prime player again, but I am rather keen on opposing him with SING US A SONG (1.50) after two solid runs at York and then in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot. 

On the latter occasion, his chance was hugely compromised by being way too keen early on and then running into trouble at the quarter-mile pole. Those earlier efforts took the sting out of his finishing surge and he was beaten some three lengths into fifth place that day. If the Ralph Beckett-trained charge remains in the same form today, it is hard to see the bay gelding finishing out of the frame and he is a huge danger to the Godolphin-owned market leader.

Of the other races on the card, despite a very poor run in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, I fancy that SANTORINI STAR (3.00) will step back up against her own sex in the Gladness Stakes, with the likely favourite Waardah her biggest rival. Later on in the finale at 5.20, GREAT CHIEFTAIN appeals as one to back at a mighty price.

Trainer Oliver Cole has his team in fine form at the moment and this classy handicapper has run well at this roller-coaster of a track before. This intermediate trip looks sure to serve him well, so the well-handicapped five-year-old may well be able to get the better of Point of Contact and the likely favourite Crest of Fire. The last named looked more than a shade unlucky in the Handicap at Ascot 20 days ago and still looks on a very viable mark here despite the restrictive odds in such a competitive race of around the 4/1 mark.

Over at Newmarket, I have two main fancies in GREEK ORDER (3.58) in the mile-and-a-half handicap and SOUND AND VISION (5.10) in the speedsters’ event. In the former race, Way of Life remains on a viable mark following his third to Al Ali over two furlongs shorter last time out, but the Kingman gelding has always looked as though he would be very well suited by this galloping mile-and-a-half. The handicapper has given him a real chance off 85 after he never had a chance behind Twisting Physics last time out in a slowly run race.

Elsewhere, the feature seven-furlong handicap at Thirsk (3.47) may well go the way of top weight YORKSHIRE, who was only narrowly edged out by Egoli at Doncaster last time out.