Goodwood big guns Baaeed, Kyprios and Nashwa fire Paddy wack into the lead

The seemingly effortless Sussex Stakes success of Baaeed, the most popular horse in the Tote Ten to Follow, was the standout moment of a pivotal ten-day period for players of the competition.

Sometimes it is not only about the horses who are winning but also the ones who don’t win, or who don’t get the chance to turn up. So while Baaeed – who commanded a place in 85.3 per cent of teams when the game started – sauntered home at Goodwood, the next most popular pick Coroebus was absent from the line-up, and the third most selected, Emily Upjohn, was licking her wounds after a resounding defeat in the King George at Ascot instead of a potential penalty kick in the Irish Oaks.

Rather than 60.6 per cent of teams cheering an Emily Upjohn victory, or 57.4 a win by an absentee in Desert Crown, some 6.6 per cent welcomed Pyledriver’s Ascot success.