Glorious Goodwood festival tips 2023: Thursday's best bets from Racing Post experts

Day three of the Goodwood festival is upon us – but who do our top tipsters fancy most?

Our top Goodwood festival tips for day three

Have Secret

By Tom Segal

He hacked up in a Nottingham nursery on soft ground as a two-year-old and has run two crackers in two of the hottest three-year-old handicaps run over this trip so far this season.

At Newbury in the London Gold Cup he did best of those who raced up the far side and the form as usual has worked out really well, with the likes of Royal Ascot winner Desert Hero well behind. Next time at Royal Ascot, Have Secret was fourth in the Golden Gates Handicap, four lengths clear of the remainder, but that doesn't tell the whole story.

The first eight home were drawn in stalls nine, 17, 16, two, 11, 12, 15 and 18 and Have Secret from stall two was the outlier. He raced on the rail the whole way round which seemed to be a disadvantage that whole week, and he surely has races in him after those two efforts having only gone up 3lb.

Have Secret13:50 Goodwood

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Jky: Oisin Orr Tnr: Richard Fahey

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Novus

4.45 Goodwood: Buccellati Handicap

By Liam Headd

It's a quick return to action for the Gary Moore-trained three-year-old, who put up a strong effort to finish less than a length behind Choisya in the fillies' handicap at this meeting on Tuesday.

Novus will contest another mile handicap and if she runs to similar effect, there's no reason why she can't go one better and get her head in front.

She appreciated the testing conditions when winning at this track in May and the form of that race has been franked with Quantum Impact, who finished fourth, winning next time out.

She also won on soft ground at Newbury last October and brings some solid form into the race. She is drawn well in stall one and should have every chance.

Novus16:45 Goodwood

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Jky: Tom Queally Tnr: Gary Moore

Holkham Bay

5.55 Goodwood: World Pool Handicap

By Paul Kealy

The son of Aclaim, a soft-ground Group 1 winner, Holkham Bay has shown bags of speed on his three starts to date, particularly last time at Doncaster when breaking really smartly and going well clear two furlongs out, only to be reeled in by the even-money favourite.

He traded at 1-5 in-running, though, and looked to have the winner and 6-5 second favourite (third) well cooked over a furlong out before running out of puff.

The form looks solid enough as the rest were beaten more than seven lengths, but Holkham Bay looks an obvious candidate for this drop in trip, and given his action and pedigree I'm pretty certain he's going to relish the ground as well (dam won on soft, her sire loved it).

An opening mark of 80 looks very fair and I expect him to make all for William Knight.