Glorious Goodwood comes to a thrilling conclusion on Saturday afternoon with the final group-race of the meeting being the Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes.
The fillies and mares' Group 2 is over the staying trip of one mile and six furlongs and Frankie Dettori will be eager to land the spoils on board Free Wind on his final day at Glorious Goodwood.
Enda McElhinney assesses that race and has a look at the devilish Stewards' Cup that follows – the £250,000 handicap over six furlongs being one of Glorious Goodwood's most iconic contests.
3.00 - Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes (Fillies' & Mares' Group 2, 1m6f)
John Gosden has trained a record three winners of this contest, first run in 2003, as the Clarehaven handler sent out California (2016), Enbihaar (2019, 2020) to score.
Slightly unusually, Rab Havlin and Jim Crowley rode those winners but Frankie Dettori – who won this for the only time on Meeznah in 2011 – can land the latest renewal on FREE WIND for Gosden, who is now in partnership with son Thady.
The Galileo mare won some decent turf starts in 2021, including the Park Hill in this grade at Doncaster. But she saw the racecourse only once last season when accounting for Sea La Rosa in the Lancashire Oaks at Haydock, with the runner-up coming to Goodwood afterwards to bag this prize.
Free Wind returned once more at York in May to win the Middleton Stakes (1m2½f) and Dettori felt she didn't run her race at Royal Ascot when three lengths off the pace in the Hardwicke after that. Conditions at the West Sussex course, allied to this being only her second run at a distance which served her so well at Doncaster in that Park Hill success, can see her back on track.
This doesn't appear the strongest renewal on paper. In-form River Of Stars for Ralph Beckett has more to find, so the chief opposition to Free Wind could be Luisa Casati and Time Lock, who were first and second over 1m4f at Goodwood in a Listed race in May.
Roger Charlton's Time Lock turned that form around when they met since in the Lancashire Oaks and the Frankel filly may still have a bigger effort in her.
3.35 - Stewards' Cup (Heritage Handicap, 6f)
Orazio will lead trainer Charlie Hills' bid for a third victory in the Stewards' Cup on the final day of Glorious Goodwood on Saturday after the ante-post favourite was among a full field of 28 horses declared for the sprint.
Orazio is one of two runners in the race for Hills, alongside Tanmawwy, and finished sixth when sent off favourite for the Wokingham at Royal Ascot last time. The likeable four-year-old is off the same mark on this occasion and a bang-in-form Jim Crowley is on board.
Another man in good tune at Goodwood already this week is Mick Appleby and he saddles JUAN LES PINS in this cavalry charge.
The gelding has an admirable strike-rate on turf (5-17) and was successful at Nottingham in June over this trip. After that it was a quick turnaround for Royal Ascot and that aforementioned Wokingham, in which he finished a close third carrying a 5lb penalty. He's up another 2lb following that run but may go well again in the hands of Alistair Rawlinson after a six-week break.
Previous Stewards' Cup winner Summerghand is back for a fifth run in this race, with Jason Watson riding the nine-year-old, while his stablemate Aberama Gold, a game winner at York last weekend, has been given the go-ahead to run by trainer David O'Meara. Topweight King's Lynn has Harry Davies claiming 3lb to assist him but faces a stiff task.
Frankie Dettori has won this twice and partners Mums Tipple for Richard Hannon in his final outing.
Watchya joined George Baker from Clive Cox at the end of last season and might be one to run a big race in first-time blinkers. He looked a little too keen in front when fading at Goodwood last time over 5f, but the headgear may assist his cause and the handicapper has dropped him 3lb since that run in May. He also goes well fresh and Sean Levey might get a tune from him.
SELECTION: JUAN LES PINS @ 16/1
