Key Points
- My betting tip has a fantastic record at Goodwood
- I’d draw a line through his Ascot run as he doesn’t stay 2m 4f
- I think this race will cut up, so take advantage of the three places on offer now
In yesterday’s article, we looked ahead to Saturday for the
King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. Today, we are looking a little further ahead, to the 2025 Goodwood Cup which is run on Tuesday, where I think I’ve found a value antepost bet, and I’d recommend that you get on this one early!
If this is the first time you’re reading my articles, I post four betting tips most weeks, but you’ll sometimes find other types of content too, including guides, big race trends and antepost picks. Speaking of which, I’ve already put up betting tips for the 2025 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Saturday, and the
2025 St Leger
in September.
And for next year, I’ve already started adding betting tips for the
2026 Cheltenham Festival
and the
2026 Aintree Grand National. All of these are worth checking out right now to get on at the best prices! And this week is not over yet, I’ll be back with more tips for you tomorrow and Saturday too.
Betting advice for 2025 Goodwood Cup
- Goodwood: Tuesday 29 July - The Goodwood Cup -
Sweet William
@ 8/1 (3 places) -
0.75pt each way
Betfred are offering the best odds on Sweet William at Goodwood Cup!
At the time of writing, several bookies are offering an antepost price of 8/1 with 3 places on Sweet William for the Goodwood Cup. However,
Betfred
stands out in terms of the best sign up offer currently to new bettors. If you sign up and
bet £10, they’ll give you £50 of free bets. That is incredible value, and well worth taking up if you don’t already have an account!
Sweet William can bounce back from a below par run at Royal Ascot
I feel Sweet William is underestimated and overpriced in the Goodwood Cup next week and I can see him going off a shorter price than his current 8/1. In this article, I’ll be breaking down why I think this for you, so ensure you keep on reading.
Sweet William record at Goodwood
Sweet William has tackled Goodwood twice during his career, and he has performed exceptionally well on both occasions. The first of his two runs at this track came in the Coral Summer Handicap two years ago, which was worth a lovely £51,540 to the winner. That race was over 1m 6f and was run on Heavy ground, which made it a real test, especially as he was only a four-year-old. However, it was a test that he passed with flying colours as he won well, despite a slow start and taking a keen hold.
The second of the two runs was in last year’s renewal of this race. He beat some solid horses in the form of Coltrane and Trueshan and only found the now-retired superstar, Kyprios, too strong and there is absolutely no shame in that.
To give some context to the level of performance put up by Kyprios, it was 6.37 seconds quicker than standard time, and lowered the all-time track record by 3.33 seconds. Also, while Sweet William is versatile ground-wise, he is at his best with some juice in the ground, so that second run could arguably be marked up with it being on Good ground.
I’d draw a line through Sweet William’s latest run, he doesn’t stay 2m 4f
Sweet William stays 2m strongly, and he enjoys 2m 2f - as he has demonstrated by finishing second and first in the last two renewals of the Doncaster Cup. However, he simply doesn’t stay 2m 4f.
He tried the 2m 4f trip in the Ascot Gold Cup last year and he didn’t get home. I thought maybe he was left with too much to do that day, and the energy he used to get from the rear of the field to the front drained him. On that basis, I hoped he would be ridden more prominently this year, enabling him to play a bigger part in the finish. However, it showed even more that he does not stay this distance, as he weakened badly from 2f out, so I’d draw a line through that run
I think Sweet William can bounce back to form today with the drop to his favoured 2m trip. On that basis, I think he’s underestimated in this field, especially as he’s the joint highest rated here, based on official BHA ratings.
My take on some of this year’s Goodwood Cup runners
Now I am under no illusion that if Illinois turns up at his best, he is the one they will all need to beat, and he could be a very tough nut to crack. Considering he was a last minute replacement for Kyprios in the Ascot Gold Cup, he ran a stormer to finish second behind Trawlerman. Aidan O’Brien commented after the race that Illinois was coming to the race a year too soon, due to the circumstances with Kyprios, so he should be even more of a force to be reckoned with next year.
Naturally, his price reflects that, and Illinois is currently trading at 8/11. Personally, I have a couple of question marks against him. Firstly, how has he come out of that Ascot Gold Cup run? That was a gruelling race for him, and it could have left a mark. Secondly, how will he cope at Goodwood? This is quite a quirky track, and he has never experienced it before. Due to these concerns, I’m happy to take him on at the price.
Next in the market we have French Master, who is actually a stablemate of Sweet William. In a similar fashion to Illinois, I think he’ll be a better horse next year, and is very much a work in progress for the Gosden stable. He’s a shorter price than Sweet William on potential/hype rather than substance and he has to prove he can step up to this Group 1 company from a handicap. I’d personally have Sweet William shorter in the market and I’m happy to take him on as well.
The only other horse ahead of Sweet William in the market is Scandinavia, who is far from a certain runner. It would be incredibly interesting if the colt did show up as he gets a huge 14lb weight-for-age allowance being a three-year-old. That said, they receive that allowance for good reason. Stradivarius won this race as a three-year-old back in 2017, but he was an absolute superstar stayer, and before him, you would need to look all the way back to Lucky Moon in 1990 to find one.
I think this race will cut up, take advantage of the three places on offer now
As it stands from the confirmation stage yesterday, nine are due to line up and take their chance in the Goodwood Cup:
- Illinois
- French Master
- Scandinavia
- Sweet William
- Sunway
- Military Academy
- Trueshan
- Dubai Future
- Subsequent
There are other potential options for Scandinavia, and I wonder if Aidan O’Brien is only keeping the three-year-old in here just in case something happens to Illinois between now and the race. Scandinavia would also want fast ground, so if rain comes, that could see him pulled out of the race. We do have others in the lineup, like Trueshan, who will want rain to fall. Those may well be pulled from the race and saved for another day if it turns up on the fast side. I wouldn’t be shocked to see less than eight runners take their chance on Tuesday.
If this happens, there will only be two places paid for the each way terms, rather than the current three on offer. However, by taking the antepost terms, our three places will be honoured. As well as the reduced places for non-runners, it would likely result in the prices of the remaining runners shortening. One way or another, Sweet William could easily go off much shorter than 8/1 on the day. Combining both factors, I think it’s the smart play to move early on this bet, and take the 8/1 and three places while we can.
Can Sweet William topple the hot favourite at Goodwood?
The combination of hype around the younger horses, and Sweet William being written off on the basis of an easily forgivable Ascot run, means he is underestimated and overpriced at 8/1. There’s also the fact that we could end up with less than eight runners, which would see the three places lost, and his price likely to shorten by the time the race comes around.
On that basis, I think he’s a good bet at this moment in time, and a pretty solid one, especially given his ground versatility. That said, Illinois is a tough favourite to take down, and there are a couple of potential improving youngsters lining up as well. As a result, I’m trimming the stake down to 0.75pt each way for now. Depending on what happens weather-wise, and what the final field looks like, I may well top up further on the day.
Looking for a Goodwood Cup bookmaker? Take a look!
Below you will find some of our recommended bookmakers and the fantastic free bet offers that they currently have available. There is plenty of value to be had by using these deals, so make sure you explore them!
1.
Bet £10 Get £40
Requirements (WR): 4x Bonus + 10x Deposit, Min. Deposit: 10
New cust. Deposit £10+ in 7 days & bet on sports. Min odds apply. Reward = 4 x £10 Free Bets (2 x £10 Bet Builders & 2 x £10 Sports bet). Valid 7 days. Free bets not valid on e-sports & non UK/IE horse racing.
18+. T&Cs Apply.
GambleAware.org.
2.
100% Up to £50 + 50 Bonus Spins
Requirements (WR): 40x Bonus, Min. Deposit: £10
18+ | 1st Deposit Only | Min Deposit £10 | Max Bet £1 | Max Bonus £50 | Max Cashout X3 The Bonus | Max Cashout from Bonus Spin Winning £50 | X10 Wagering on Bonus and Bonus Spin Winnings | 2-days Bonus Expiry | 2-days Bonus Spins Expiry | Bonus and Spins Winnings are playable on any Slot and Scratch game, except for restricted-bonus games | BeGambleAware.org - T&Cs apply.
3.
Up To £10 Back As A Free Bet
Requirements (WR): 2x Deposit, Min. Deposit: £10
T&Cs apply. New players who place a £10 bet at odds of 4/5 (1.8) or bigger will receive £20 in Free Bets. Qualifying deposit (Visa/Mastercard only) of £10 required. £20 in Free Bets will be credited as 4 x £5 Free Bets. The qualifying bet must settle within seven days.
4.
Bet £10 and get 50 free spins on Big Bass Splash
Min. Deposit: £10
18+ Play responsibly www.gambleaware.org| Bonus T&Cs apply | User agreement | £10 min deposit | £10 in slot bets grant 50 spins on Big Bass Splash | £5 total spin value | £0.10 per spin | 7-day expiry | Selected payment methods only
5.
Bet £10 and get £20 in free bets
New customers only. Place £10 first bet in min odds 1/2 to get £20 Free Bet. Stake not returned. Valid 7 days, min odds 1/2. Settled bets only. One sportsbook welcome offer per customer. Full T&Cs apply.
Do you want more RacingGav content? Join my Discord!
While I typically produce four articles each week for betting.co.uk with free access to my betting tips, the majority of my selections are exclusively for my Discord members.
The Discord members enjoyed a very profitable start to July with a four timer landing on the very first day of the month at prices of
11/2, 9/4, 9/2 and 9/2!
Since then, they have profited from more winners at
7/1,
15/2,
9/2, 7/1, 11/1, 12/1, 6/1 and 2/1
as well as many more places.
Therefore after the first three weeks or so of July, the Discord members are sitting on a profit of
+24.304pts!
Feel free to
join my Discord server
right away and see all of my racing content, and if you have any queries before you sign up, my DMs are open over on X @RacingGav
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
by Racing Gav
19 hours ago
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
The latest sports news with betting.co.uk
