Goodwood Cup market leader Big Orange uneasy in betting

Gold Cup winner Big Orange, who is bidding to complete a Goodwood Cup treble in its first year as a Group 1, has been uneasy in the betting as the race approaches at 3.35.

As short as 4-5 overnight and odds-on everywhere, by lunchtime Big Orange was out to 11-10 generally, though William Hill, Betfred and Betfair were still quoting evens.

No rival has attracted particularly strong support, so Big Orange, who is among the most popular horses in training, might have been expected to be tight in the betting as the morning money came in.

Second favourite is US Army Ranger, last year's Derby runner-up who was third to Oriental Fox in the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot. He had been 14-1 in places on Monday but is now a general 10s chance.

Also popular were Qewy (22-1 from 28s) and Desert Skyline (25s from 40s).

Other markets movers today:

Goodwood 2.25 Zaman 10-1 (from 14s), James Garfield 10-1 (from 12s)

No surprise to see a volatile market in the Vintage Stakes, in which precious few have big-race experience. These colts have hit the frame in the Superlative Stakes and Windsor Castle respectively, which probably explains their support against shorter-priced horses with big reputations and impressive maiden wins.

Goodwood 3.00 Dream Castle 13-2 (from 12s)

There has been a school of thought that suggests Dream Castle is a sprinter waiting to be unleashed ever since he was second to Barney Roy in the Greenham. This sharp seven furlongs will provide the greatest test of speed yet, so he is the one for money against Limato, whose participation may yet be scuppered by the ground.

Goodwood 4.45 Dark Shot 11-2 (from 8-1)

The market in this sprint handicap is fairly volatile all over, Dark Shot is just the main mover. His strength in the betting surely owes something to his recent record at Goodwood and similar tracks. He just failed to reach Caspian Prince in the Dash at Epsom and had previously been third over this course and distance.

Galway 7.05 Maysonette 5-1 (from 12s), High Altitude 7-1 (from 25s)

The money for Maysonette is easy to rationalise, given she'd rattled home on her recent debut at the Curragh. High Altitude is a little harder to see, as he's already run four times, but he is rated 72 and that would definitely make him better than the 25s chance he was this morning. He was pulled out of a race here yesterday, so his move might simply be the market adjusting to him now being a likely runner.