King of the Swinger: play our free game for Goodwood!

Tom Thurgood picks his Swinger selections for the seven qualifying races for the start of the Qatar Goodwood Festival on Tuesday. Make your selections in our free-to-play game in association with World Pool and the Hong Kong Jockey Club!

The first three days of this year's Qatar Goodwood Festival are World Pool days, in which punters from across the globe can bet into a single pool with huge liquidity thanks to the collaboration of over 20 operators. As well as a better pool-betting experience for punters, World Pool days hosted in this country deliver a notable financial boost to British racing.

The Swinger bet is a popular one in the Far East and simple to place - all you have to do is pick two horses in a given race and both have to finish in the first three in order to collect.

In our free-to-play game for Tuesday at Goodwood, you just need to pick two horses for each of the first seven races and get as many top-three finishes as possible in order to climb our leaderboard. Horses at bigger prices will return a bigger dividend, so there's no harm looking towards bigger-priced fancies!

Below, we've nominated some contenders who warrant a second look to get your started. Good luck and don't forget to submit your entry ahead of racing on Tuesday!

1.40 Goodwood: Coral Handicap (5f)

__Selections: Raasel (No 2) & Lord Riddford (No 15)

A 14-runner handicap gets the Qatar Goodwood Festival under way and Lord Riddiford bids for a brilliant three-timer in this five-furlong sprint. He’s not in the best of heart at present and has the widest draw in stall 15, but he has three wins and a place in four runs here while he handles soft conditions and receives weight from all of his rivals. Something of a revival would not surprise back at his favourite track in a contest which has surely been a particular target.

At the top of the weights, Raasel has not quite hit the heights of last term when he was extremely progressive but he’s performed respectably on most starts this season and this 0-105 handicap would count as his most feasible assignment so far this term. He’s another who knows his way around here (two from three over course and distance) and, while soft ground may not be absolutely ideal, handles give underfoot and ought to give a bold show.

2.15 Goodwood: British EBF 40th Anniversary Maiden Stakes (6f)

__Selections: Array (No 3) & Havanagreattime (No 10)

Six of the 13 runners in this contest for inexperienced two-year-olds are unraced and the market is likely to prove informative, though early racecourse experience is surely key – since 2010, debut runners in maidens and novice races at Glorious Goodwood have a strike-rate of just 3.5% (10 from 287).

Array looks hard to kick out of the shake-up after running with promise on debut at Newbury and only giving way to a useful rival with previous experience. This No Nay Never colt is out of a half-sister to Frankel and he could be exciting for connections that have sent out four winners and three seconds from their last 15 maiden and novice runners at this meeting.

Havanagreattime is another to have shaped quite nicely on debut last time, finishing behind arguably the leading juvenile for a noted two-year-old stable at Windsor last time, and this expensive and very well-bred type by the yard’s standards could take a step forward now and put his experience to good use. The Richard Hughes stable had a maiden winner at the meeting last year.

2.50 Goodwood: Coral Chesterfield Cup Handicap (1m2f)

__Selections: Millebosc (No 9) & Outbreak (No 10)

The big handicap on day one of the Qatar Goodwood Festival looks typically competitive but the record of the Johnston stable – Charlie is the name on the licence for the first time this year after officially taking over from record-breaking father Mark – is the place to start. The yard has won this race eight times this century and has sent out three runners-up and four thirds. Of the stable’s 43 runners in this since 2000, 18 have hit the places (41.9%).

Outbreak is the sole runner for the stable this year and plenty of use was made of him from the front at Royal Ascot last time. This race has likely been the target and, although the ground may be a tad softer than ideal, he has ultimately been progressive this season and stepping up two furlongs in trip now could well eke out further improvement.

Pride Of America cannot be discounted despite his big weight - horses rated over 100 have gone well in this this century (25% of them placed to a small level stakes) – yet Millebosc shaped with some late promise behind him in a huge handicap at York last time and he can get closer now in receipt of 13lb for a top yard with a good record in handicaps at this meeting (14% strike-rate, +£38.25 level stakes profit).

3.25 Goodwood: Nicholson Gin Vintage Stakes (7f)

__Selections: Haatem (No 2) & Iberian (No 3)

This prestigious prize for two-year-olds is the first Group race of the Qatar Goodwood Festival and Haatem sets the standard given his fifth in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, while only thr brilliant City Of Troy finished in front of him – albeit a very long way in front of him! – in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket last time. Richard Hannon is surprisingly yet to win this race but this looks a good opportunity to remedy that.

Aidan O’Brien has run 16 horses in the Vintage Stakes and nine of them have finished in the first three, so Mountain Bear warrants respect - especially now that he steps up in trip – although he needs to bounce back from an underwhelming effort in the July Stakes last time and so we’ll go with Iberian, an exciting debut winner for Charlie Hills who is beautifully-bred and cost plenty and ran out an exciting and well-backed winner on debut at Newbury. The yard’s first-time out two-year-old winners are usually pretty useful – Cicero’s Gift, Sydneyarms Chelsea and Sonny Liston spring to mind in recent years – and he appeals as an improver despite the step-up in class.

4.00 Goodwood: World Pool Lennox Stakes (7f)

__Selections: Kinross (No 4) & Audience (No 2)

Kinross is a class act and seven-furlong specialist who handles easy ground and the dual-Group One winner can make amends for narrow defeat in this race last year. He was positioned just too far back on that occasion in a race dominated by prominent racers and he was just held at the line. This three-time Group Two winner landed this race two years ago and, after his latest close third in the July Cup behind Shaquille, he should be ready to very close once again.

Audience has really come good this season since adopting front-running tactics after being gelded and additionally being fitted with a hood. He is obviously progressive and continue in that vein up in grade in a race that seems an obvious fit after a cosy success in the Group Three Criterion Stakes over the distance last time.

Isaac Shelby will get plenty of attention here given he’s a three-year-old in receipt of plenty of weight, though the record of that age bracket – very strong around 10-15 years ago – has been greater accounted for by betting markets now and his form doesn’t look quite as good now as earlier in the year for all he’s a lovely colt, while Al Suhail can blow hot and cold and may prefer genuine top of the ground.

4.35 Goodwood: Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup Stakes (2m)

Selections: Courage Mon Ami (No 3) & Coltrane (No 2)

Courage Mon Ami is the obvious place to start as an unbeaten young star with more to offer and Gold Cup winners at Royal Ascot have a notably good recent record in this race. This is likely to be the softest ground he has encountered so far, but he proved at Ascot that he has the stamina required if this is run on a slower surface. As a general rule looking at the statistics, progeny of Frankel are noted for staying well but his progeny as a whole have performed better on ground on the quicker side of good. It would be a surprise if he wasn’t in the first three, all the same.

Coltrane does handle ground on the easy side of good and his record probably isn’t talked about enough, admirably finishing either first or second on his last nine starts and that sole miss being when fourth in this race last year when taking the huge jump from Listed company and into a stellar edition featuring Kyprios, Trueshan and Stradivarius. He should be in the shake-up once again after another typically good effort behind Courage Mon Ami at Ascot last time.

5.05 Goodwood: Coral Fillies’ Handicap (1m)

__Selections: Rowayeh (No 12) & Royal Dress (No 11)

A maximum 20-runner field lines up for the final leg featuring a score of unexposed fillies. Good luck!

Rowayeh is fancied to extend the brilliant time of time of things for Hukum’s trainer Owen Burrows, who has enjoyed an excellent season so far and this filly scored with something in hand on handicap debut last time when beating a subsequent Listed scorer. Her draw in stall 18 isn’t ideal, but runners drawn widest at Glorious Goodwood in the last 15 years in races with at least 15 runners and priced at 20-1 or shorter have actually turned a profit (+16.50) at a strike-rate of 9% (1.09 A/E) and we hope she can still get into the first three.

Royal Dress has runs eight times and rates as one of the most experienced runners here yet she is unexposed in these conditions and softer ground will certainly be no problem. Indeed, she steps up to a mile for the first time here after putting in a career-best on heavy ground and at her first try at seven furlongs last time and she is fancied to go well for the Hannon yard that won this two years ago and is two from 12 (plus three runners-up) in fillies-only handicaps at this meeting.