Coral Golden Mile
Heritage Handicap 14:30
Goodwood
£150,000 guaranteed,
3yo plus, 1m, Class 2   
Friday 1st August 2025

SureWIn

1 Rhoscolyn 11/2
2 Ebt's Guard 11/1
3 Real Gain 12/1
15 ran NR: Arisaig, Great Chieftain, Longlai, Mirsky,
Star Anthem, Treasure Tim, Two Tempting
Distances: 1l, 1l, ½l Time: 1m 38.18s (slow by 1.38s)

Rhoscolyn turns back the clock with a vintage Goodwood display to hand David O’Meara another slice of Coral Golden Mile glory.

Sent off at 11/2 and reunited with stable first-choice Daniel Tudhope, the old warrior delivered his customary late rattle to land one of the meeting’s marquee handicaps – adding to the O’Meara tally in this race after Prompting (2020) and Orbaan (2022).

Drawn low in stall 3, Tudhope slotted in just off the speed, biding time while Real Gain and Ebt’s Guard eyeballed each other on the front end. But with a furlong to run, the cavalry charge was on – and from the shadows emerged the familiar white face of Rhoscolyn, thundering down the outside with ears pinned and eyes locked on the prize.

Ebt’s Guard stuck gamely to his task but had no answer as Rhoscolyn swept by to win by a length, with Real Gain a further length adrift in third. A six-time winner now at this quirky Sussex track, Rhoscolyn was making his second appearance of the week – having finished out the frame just 48 hours earlier over seven furlongs.

“He’s a proper old Goodwood specialist, isn’t he?” said O’Meara, smiling. “This was probably the biggest pot he could go and win here, and it’s great for The Horse Watchers. We nearly didn’t run him Wednesday – if we’d known how much rain was coming Thursday, we might have waited.”

The plan fell into place. “Danny got a lovely spot from his draw, and they didn’t seem to go overly quick, which helped. He’s the kind of horse that needs things to fall right – and they did today.”

O’Meara was candid on the numbers game. “We run plenty in these big handicaps, so the strike rate isn’t flash. We let the owners take their chance, and Danny usually picks right. It’s the best horse wins – simple as that.”

Tudhope admitted he had options. “I was between Rhoscolyn and Bopedro, but when Mirsky came out, David gave me the choice and I went with Rhoscolyn. He relaxes well, and although there was a slight concern about the mile, he’s won over it here before. Once the gap came, he was always going to go through it – he’s brave like that.”

The mile clearly holds no fears. Nor does Goodwood. “He’s a thinker,” Tudhope added. “Tracks like this keep his brain busy. He’s always been a bit tricky, but when it clicks, he gives you everything.”

Connections of the placed horses had every reason to be proud.

William Muir, co-trainer of Ebt’s Guard, was effusive: “We paid five grand for him and he’s been an absolute legend. The Spring Cup, unlucky in the Royal Hunt Cup, and now this – he’s earned a tilt at something like the Cambridgeshire.”

Richard Hughes, trainer of third-placed Real Gain, took encouragement from defeat. “On better ground, we might’ve got there. He just ran out of petrol in the last 100 yards. He hadn’t run for a year – had bone soreness – so to run like that was tremendous. We’ll head straight to the Cambridgeshire.”

BoyleSports

Golden Mile (Heritage Handicap)
£150,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 1m, Class 2
15 ran
Going: Soft, Good to Soft in places

POS. (DRAW) DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 (3)    Rhoscolyn 7 9-6 David O'Meara Jason Hart 11/2
2 (12) 1 Ebt's Guard 4 9-6 William Muir & Chris Grassick Lewis Edmunds 11/1
3 (13) 1 Real Gain 5 9-5 Richard Hughes James Doyle 12/1
4 (2) ½ Greek Order 5 9-7 Michael Bell Oisin Murphy 6/1
5 (7) ½ Fifth Column 3 8-12 3ex John & Thady Gosden William Buick 9/2F
6 (11) shd Tribal Chief 4 9-1 David Menuisier Christophe Soumillon 11/2
7 (15) 2¼ Lattam 6 9-5 Julie Camacho Ryan Sexton 16/1
8 (20) ½ Blue For You t 7 9-4 David O'Meara Kieran Shoemark 33/1
9 (17) nk Skukuza 4 10-1 3ex Ed Dunlop Ryan Moore 5/1
10 (1) shd Theoryofeverything 5 9-5 3ex David O'Meara Clifford Lee 25/1
11 (16) 1½ Bopedro 9 9-8 David O'Meara Hector Crouch 14/1
12 (8) nk Dutch Decoy 8 8-6 6ex Charlie Johnston Hollie Doyle 11/1
13 (4) hd Whitcombe Rockstar 6 9-6 Keiran Burke Josephine Gordon 33/1
14 (22) 3¼ Afentiko 3 8-13 Oliver Cole David Probert 22/1
15 (19) 3¼ Fantastic Fox 7 9-4 Roger Varian Silvestre De Sousa 40/1
WD 17 (18) Star Anthem 3 9-1 Clive Cox WITHDRAWN
NR 2 (14) Two Tempting 6 9-10 Jonathan Portman NON RUNNER
NR 4 (9) Arisaig 4 9-7 Charlie Johnston NON RUNNER
NR 11 (6) Mirsky 6 9-5 David O'Meara NON RUNNER
NR 14 (21) Treasure Time 4 9-4 William Haggas NON RUNNER
NR 16 (10) Great Chieftain 4 9-3 Oliver Cole NON RUNNER
NR 21 (5) Longlai 7 8-9 2 George Baker NON RUNNER

BoyleSports