Odds, trends and final selections

The fifth and final card at Glorious Goodwood is headlined by one of the biggest betting races of the season, the Stewards' Cup. This heritage handicap was first held at Goodwood back in 1840 and 28 top-quality sprinters will enter the stalls ahead of this year's renewal.

I've taken a look through the final field for the Steward's Cup and highlighted some key recurring trends, before picking out our best Glorious Goodwood day five tips.

2023 Stewards' Cup Trends

• 16 of the last 16 winners had won over six furlongs
• 15 of the last 16 winners were aged six or younger
• 15 of the last 16 winners had run at least three times already that season
• 14 of the last 16 winners had won at Class 2 level or above
• 12 of the last 16 winners came from a double-figure stall
• 11 of the last 16 winners had won during that season
• 11 of the last 16 winners carried 9-01 or more
• 11 of the last 16 winners ran at Ascot, Newmarket or York on their last start
• 9 of the last 16 winners went off at 10/1 or bigger

Following an unseasonably wet July, the ground at Goodwood was already soft leading into the Glorious meeting. A deluge of rain on Wednesday moved the going towards heavy, but Thursday's and Friday's card were played out under clear skies. Saturday's forecast, however, looks dreadfully wet and I wouldn't be surprised if the going reverted back to heavy before Saturday's main event.

2023 Stewards' Cup Ante-Post Tip 1 - King's Lynn

If this year's Stewards' Cup did turn into a hard slog on heavy ground, then KING'S LYNN'S(Tipped at 16/1, now 14/1) proven class could come to the fore.

Andrew Balding's six-year-old is former Group Two winner and has twice won Listed races on soft ground. King's Lynn has also performed will in soft ground handicaps in the past, most notably a narrow defeat to Rohaan in the 2021 Wokingham.

Following a pipe-opener at Doncaster, King's Lynn has maintained a high level of form in handicaps this season. Ryan Moore's mount was only beaten a length by the well-handicapped Nymphadora at Chester's May Festival, and has since run very well in defeat under Harry Davies twice at Ascot.

Davies has called up to take the ride again at Glorious Goodwood, reducing King's Lynn's burden to 9-8. Five of the last six winners of the Stewards' Cup carried 9-05 or more, so I'm sure Balding and the Royal Family will be hopeful of a big run.

2023 Stewards' Cup Ante-Post Tip 2 - Aleezdancer

I was planning to highlight Significantly at the ante-post stage, before he was declared for a handicap at Ascot on King George day. Instead, I picked out ALEEZDANCER (Tipped at 40/1, now 16/1), who's five turf victories have all come on soft ground.

Kevin Ryan's four-year-old beat Dakota Gold in a Class Two at Ripon last season, setting a time that was nearly a second quicker than what the classy Swingalong clocked when winning over the same course-and-distance. Aleezdancer made a winning start to this season too, powering clear to beat several dangerous rivals on soft ground at Doncaster.

Neil Callan's mount then finished sixth behind current favourite Orazio at Newmarket, and was only beaten three-and-a-half lengths as Bielsa won during York's Dante Meeting. Aleezdancer has struggled on his two most recent starts, but those defeats will see Ryan's four-year-old enter the Steward's Cup running off a perfectly winnable mark and conditions are bound to come up in Aleezdancer's favour.

2023 Stewards' Cup Tip 3 - Significantly

Both of my ante-post selections have been declared. Neither, however, have landed particularly favourable draws, seeing as runners drawn high have fared best in recent years, so I'll have a third punt on one drawn on the stand's side of the track.

As I mentioned in my ante-post preview above, SIGNIFICANTLY (20/1) ran in a hot handicap at Ascot on King George day. As the ground dried out, Julie Camacho's sprinter drifted in the betting, but Significantly still gave a very good account of himself, running on to snatch second in the closing stages.

During his time with Karl Burke, Significantly won the Palace Of Holyrood House Stakes on bottomless ground at Royal Ascot in 2021, before following up a month later to reach a mark in the 100s. Having lost his way for Burke, Significantly moved to Julie Camacho's yard in the spring and ran really well on his stable debut at Ayr. Camacho's recruit then claimed an overdue victory at Haydock, beating some talented sprinters with a fine front-running performance over six furlongs.

Significantly must have come out of last Saturday's race at Ascot well to warrant the seven-day turnaround. Joe Fanning's mount remains 12 pounds short of the peak rating he reached in 2021 and soft ground should see Significantly to best effect.