Not much point in going through the run of Cai Shen because, in my opinion, it was just a poor ride from Richard Hughes and he certainly didn't cover himself in glory in the other races either. We all have our bad days anyway, I certainly have plenty of them, and it wasn't one of his better ones, that's for sure. On we go. Actually, come to think of it, it did not matter anyway. There was no way he was beating the (easy) winner at his best, never mind when he was taking such a keen hold through the early stages. I will shut up now!

-1.00pts on the day. Form of last 10 selections; 2-3-2-8-3-2-0-0-8-0 (0 winners & 5 places).

Today's another non-jigger in terms of betting opportunities, though one of our former unlucky losers lines up in the last race and I'm taking a punt on him, in the hope that he gets what would be a deserved victory. Here's hoping for little-to-no rain as well, he likes the ground to be quite quick. All the best & take it handy.

July stats updated at the weekend, though they're not nice (-27pts; 25 bets, 1 win, 9 places, 6 seconds).

5:30 Goodwood - Santefisio - 2pts @ 14/1 (General)

Santefisio is a seriously quirky performer, who needs skilled riding and a lot of luck if he is going to leave with a win, but at least there's no doubting that the talent is there in his locker and a solid run could be on the cards at a track that he clearly enjoys. His course form reads 2-2-3, never beaten further than a length, and it seems that this quirky track is able to get the best out of Keith Dalgleish's 6-year-old, though those outings came when he was with Peter Makin. You can put a line through his most recent run, which came over a trip much too far at Ayr and he simply didn't get home (too keen; shaped well). Previous to that, he was an unlucky short-head second to a gambled-on Geoff Harker trained runner over this 7f trip, also at Ayr. The way that he cruised through the race showed just how good he can be when getting a race run to suit and he was just caught on the line, leaving him in the runners-up place for the fifth time in his career. I think that he deserves to get his head in-front again, as he's really consistent and never gets any respite from the handicapper, who looks to have a tight grip on him but that's not the complete story. When there will be enough to go right for him (good pace, luck in-running, etc.), this fellow can run beyond his current mark and if getting some decent fortune from a potentially tricky sit in stall 3, he could go very close. Tom Queally hops on board as well and he has some prior on the horse, having won on him in September and finished beaten a length on his only other ride. He's a first-time booking for the yard, who are in very good form, and they also see fit to apply blinkers for the first time (Queally's win on him saw him accompanied with first-time cheekpieces). He's just an interesting runner all round and although picking the much safer options when I'm not picking winners may be ideal, they aren't the ones that will show a long-term profit and I certainly believe that this one is overpriced at the current odds. Hopefully he'll go well, though he will have to beat the recently impressive and well-in Dubawi Sound if he's to land the money, but I am hoping that one will bounce just four days after his bloodless success at Newcastle, an entirely different track.

Result - 2nd @ 14/1; Ran a cracker, just run out of it in the end. Why us!