GOSHEN 3.20 Wincanton at 5/6

 Wincanton Matchbook Betting Exchange Kingwell Hurdle (Grade 2) 1m7f50y

COMPOSITE RATINGS

Trainer Form: 8-41 for 20%          (10)     
National average: 14%               (10)
Course Strike Rate: 14%             (10)        
OR: 130                             (10)                          
Optimum Ground: Soft/heavy          (10)
Distance: 2m                        (10)
Jockey: Jamie Moore                 (10)
National Average: 12%               (10)
Course Strike Rate: 14%             (10)
Trainer/jockey combination: 17%     (10)
Total:                             (100)
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Danger: Adagio

Left handed Cheltenham not on the agenda this time

Trainer Gary Moore is relishing unleashing the resurgent Goshen tomorrow and hopes he can put up another winning performance when he bids for successive victories in the Kingwell Hurdle at Wincanton. The 6yo posted a joint career-best Racing Post Rating of 163 when a 22-length winner of the Grade 2 last year but was beaten on his next five starts, including a nightmare run in the Champion Hurdle. With the Cheltenham Festival not on his agenda, Goshen will bid to join an elite group of back-to-back winners of the Kingwell Hurdle. 

The win at Sandown was his best race since winning last year's Kingwell Hurdle. Connections resisted putting headgear on him, which had been mentioned and he stepped up on that back on a track he's now 3-3 at, one of them on the Flat. He is still one of the best hurdlers in Britain but his tendency to lug right-handed makes suitable races hard to find for him. Jamie Moore's suggestion that he could go chasing next season, where there would be plenty of options for him at Sandown, Ascot and Kempton, does make sense.

Optimum conditions

After his win at Sandown the the trainer said: "Hopefully we can now get some rain at Wincanton and then that's where Goshen will go next. This race was his aim because it's a stiff two miles, whereas Wincanton is a fast track."

So pleased with him - Gary Moore

Gary Moore told us this week: "He's all good and I've been so pleased with him. He worked a little bit on Tuesday morning and as shown at Sandown he's finally come good again at home and on the track. I'm looking forward to getting him out again on Saturday. It was so nice to see him do what did last time and look his usual self!"

Race conditions to suit

The team are clearly in good spirits and good form. This right-handed track and soft ground will be perfect for him and he should get an uncontested lead. Despite there being more than two months left of the jumps season, Moore has already smashed past his best tally of 63 he posted in 2005/06, sitting on 66 prior to the weekend.

Contender

Adagio is a threat, he is a Grade 1 winner as a juvenile last winter (soft) and runner-up twice at that level at the Cheltenham and Aintree festivals afterwards (both on good to soft). He has an entry in the Champion Hurdle and might need this run to get him ready for it. This is only his second run since 8 April 2021 and first for 97 days.

Timeform

GOSHEN was a sparkling winner of this event 12 months ago and is impossible to oppose on the back of his resurgent wide-margin success at Sandown at the start of the month. Adagio hasn't been seen out since returning with a fine Cheltenham second in November but should ensure Gary Moore's high-class hurdler doesn't have things all his own way though in what looks essentially a match.

Value

With just one danger we priced Goshen up at 4/5, so the 5/6 looks about the right price. Anything better must be perceived value! We have been nibbling at 1.89 and 1.90 on the exchange. 

Goshen traded at a high of 3.90 and Betfair SP of 3.31 when winning last time, a race in which it led: Adagio traded at a low of 1.16 and Betfair SP of 13.98 when losing last time, a race in which it raced towards the rear.

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PACAFI RESULTS for 2022

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