Enfjaar

Enfjaar did well to get as close as he got in the 10-furlong handicap that opened proceedings at Goodwood on Tuesday. Dropped in early on from his high draw, they didn’t go a great pace, as evidenced by his finishing speed percentage of over 115% of overall speed, and that obviously wasn’t ideal. He did stay on to good effect down the outside, he closed all the way to the line, but he just couldn’t get to Take Heart, a talented horse of Johnny Murtagh’s who was ridden close to the pace by Ben Coen from early.

Enfjaar remains progressive though. Roger Varian’s horse won a handicap at Chelmsford on his debut this season, his first run since being gelded, and he followed up by winning the John Smith’s Cup at York off a mark of 99, when he had Take Heart behind him. He was racing off a mark of 105 on Tuesday, but he proved that he was up to that type of mark. The handicapper raised him by 3lb for this performance, but he remains progressive, and he could be better than a handicapper. This 10-furlong trip looks like an ideal trip for him, and he goes well with a little bit of an ease in the ground.

Goodwood, 30^th July 2024