This sprinter was the unluckiest loser at Glorious Goodwood - do you agree?

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Today, Chris writes on the five unluckiest losers at Glorious Goodwood last week. Look away now for those who suffered a horror run!

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It was very interesting to see Goodwood making more use of a false rail last week in an attempt to provide running room for all in the straight. "Bad luck in running" has always been a key character in the annual drama of the Glorious meeting but at times on day one, I wondered if they had successfully managed to bump him off.

In a way, it would have been a pity. A poll of Front Runner readers found majority support for the view that the risk of traffic trouble at Goodwood "adds greatly to the experience, though I'm glad not all tracks are like that".

What would Glorious week be without the constant fear of a nightmare run? Like playing poker for matches, it just wouldn't work.

If you agree, then you'll be glad to know that in fact Goodwood still has teeth and the week ultimately provided plenty of hard luck stories. And, joy of joys, one of the horses I most fancied was among the main sufferers. It's lovely to feel included.

Richard Young provided a daily focus on unlucky runners through the week, which has hopefully provided plenty of fodder for your trackers. If you missed them, they're available here: , , , , .

What follows is my attempt to identify the five horses who were most unlucky last week. These things are fairly subjective, so you won't agree in every respect. Do please get in touch and tell me where I've gone off the rails at frontrunner@racingpost.com.

I'm confining myself to horses that might plausibly have won with better luck. That rules out horses like , who had no run at all but ended up beaten a long way. You couldn't possibly know where he ought to have finished.

In similar vein, I thought ran well in the meeting's very first race, making up a lot of ground from the back in a race in which the pace held up. He's one to keep an eye on but it takes a bit of imagination to see him as the winner of that Chesterfield Cup.

Hopefully, I've avoided horses who were the authors of their own misfortunes. would be one of those. If he'd started on terms, he'd surely have won, but he blew his chance as soon as the stalls clanged open and of course the fear is that he'll keep on doing that.

didn't seem to cope with the track all that well. emerged awkwardly from the stalls and went through the first half of his race as if his tail was on fire. I don't think you can call them unlucky, though they put up mighty efforts.

So who was unlucky? My top five are below, building to the most unlucky of all.

First, let me just note that whip suspensions over the five days totalled eight days versus 22 days and two cautions for interference-related suspensions. Which of these two issues should be the more pressing in the eyes of the regulator, eh?

5 Sheer Rocks

It all went wrong at the start for Sheer Rocks, who was shunted sideways when John The Baptist ducked left out of the stalls. A prominent racer or leader in all his previous starts, albeit in smaller fields, he was stuck out the back as a result and obliged to try completely new tactics in the toughest contest of his young career.

Eve Johnson Houghton: trainer of Sheer RocksCredit: Laura Green

For that reason, I think he deserves plenty of credit for running on into a nearest-finish fourth place out of 12 in his 1m3f handicap on Friday. He still only had one behind at the two-pole but was really shifting by the time he hit the line.

Surely he can hope for a smoother run through next time and connections will be able to revert to more positive tactics, now they know he stays this far.

4) Samahram

Well supported as punters began to recall that French-trained runners in the Al Shaqab silks have a good record in the Oak Tree, Samahram was held up in a race in which the first two were handy from the off. It was perhaps a surprising tactic for a horse stepping down in trip.

Anyway, she travelled strongly on the inside rail and it looked like the cutaway rail would be her moment to spring forward.

Unfortunately, she continued to find the backsides of other horses in her face as far as the furlong pole.

It was one of those occasions when, even if you'd backed her, as I had, it was borderline hilarious to see how many things could go wrong for her, like Sideshow Bob stepping on rakes wherever he turns.

Of course, of course she sprang forward with alacrity when daylight finally came but her winning chance had evaporated by then, along with my stake and possibly yours as well. I imagine she may stay in France but I'll be looking out for her.

3) Euchen Glen

It's been a disappointing year for the old boy, winner of the Brigadier Gerard last season. But he might easily have turned it around in Saturday's Summer Handicap.

You could tell that something good was coming from the menacing way he travelled, even though he was last until a long way after the turn for home. But he needed a gap about five minutes before one turned up.

Euchen Glen: Jim Goldie's stable stalwart did not have the best of luck in runningCredit: Edward Whitaker

The eventual runner-up, Bague D'Or, was hard at work from a long way out and just in front of Euchen Glen at the two pole. But that rival had room to run and he didn't. He had to be switched around, losing several lengths, and then surged forward to be beaten just a length and a quarter. Yikes!

Oh well, he clearly still has the appetite for the game. What can he do next time, possibly in the Ebor?

2) Super Superjack

The eventual first and second in Friday's marathon handicap had both been held up but Master Milliner got much the smoother run through, having been a length ahead of Super Superjack most of the way. He wasn't travelling anything like as strongly as the beaten favourite at the top of the straight, however, and his lead was being cut to ribbons as the line approached.

Milton Harris: trainer of Super Superjack, whose effort could be marked upCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Super Superjack finally had green grass in front of him from the two pole, at which point he had perhaps four lengths to find. Being a stayer, he didn't really hit top gear until inside the final furlong but then came the inevitable surge to break the hearts of those who made him 7-2.

The official distance was three parts of a length but the two horses were level three strides later. Having been rated 45 last year, Super Superjack is evidently still handicapped to win off a mark of 82, though he needs the sort of stamina test that isn't commonly found.

1) Stone Of Destiny

The chat about Saturday's Stewards' Sprint, a consolation race for the Stewards' Cup, has all been about how disappointing it was to have just a dozen runners. Think how much trouble Stone Of Destiny could have found if there had been 20 in the line-up!

His in-running comment includes: "repeatedly short of room from 2f out, hampered over 1f out . . . short of room towards finish" and that about sums it up. The dozen runners maintained quite a tight pack for this six-furlong contest and he was the one who lost out as a result.

Just when it looked as though the gap might come between Dark Shot and Digital at around the two pole, those horses moved back together and Stone Of Destiny was squeezed out. He switched around Digital and edged forward, only to be luckless again as Many A Star moved over in front of him.

He crossed the line in fourth with plenty more to offer, as if it were a piece of work. It looked like he had reams of ammunition but never got to pull the trigger.

The cautionary aspect is that this is a horse with a 10 per cent strike-rate, who hasn't won since the Portland of 2020. Still, this was his best effort since his last outing at the trip. Given another go on fast ground in the near future, he'll be very interesting.

Monday's picks

John Flint's horses tend not to start at short prices, even when they're about to run well. He had two winners last week, one returned at 18-1 and the other at 14-1, from just five recent runners.

So perhaps it's no surprise that is 7-1 and bigger in places as he returns to Windsor tonight, to the course and distance at which he won three weeks ago. He's up 3lb for a narrow success but I don't think that will stop him being competitive, given his optimum conditions once more.

This is a weaker race, even though there are twice as many runners. He won a Class 4 contest with a ratings band of 0-85 and now tackles Class 5 company in a 0-70.

Flint is having a resurgence of sorts. His three Flat winners in July were as many as he had in the whole of last year.

Brian Ellison is another in-form trainer, judging by six winners from 19 runs in the past fortnight. He sends a strong team to Carlisle for the female-riders card and can prove the pick of them at 100-30 or so.

She got back to winning ways at Newcastle nine days ago, her mark having tumbled since her previous success. She's 5lb higher now but a stone below the mark she had when competitive in turf races in 2020.

Three things to look out for on Monday

1 An Aidan O'Brien newcomer with a Derby entry means that Naas's second race is required viewing. Denmark is a son of Camelot out of an Anabaa mare and a half-sister to Big Blue, a Listed winner in France who ended up over hurdles. Denmark, who wears a tongue tie, is also in the National Stakes next month. Two of his six rivals are also entered for next year's Derby, including Jim Bolger's Young Ireland, who ought to appreciate this step up in distance.

2 Two days after his half brother, Commanche Falls, won the Stewards' Cup, Dakota Gold is out at Ripon in pursuit of a decent pot by Monday standards, the Wilmot-Smith Memorial. At the age of eight, he might not be quite as good as his Group 3-winning peak but he's already a winner this year, at the Dante meeting, and he was a good second in the Gosforth Park Cup last time. He'll be around 2-1 to keep Michael Dods and his owners smiling.

3 When a horse called Dame Ethel Smyth makes her debut for the John and Thady Gosden yard, the owner can only be Rachel Hood, whose naming of various horses has provided a free education to any racefans who may be interested in the roots of feminism. Examples have included Millicent Fawcett, Olympe De Gouges, Richard Pankhurst and, most recently, Edith Garrud, who taught her fellow suffragettes ju-jitsu as a form of self defence. Smyth was a composer who became a suffragette and wrote The March Of Women, which was adopted as the movement's anthem. Her equine namesake is by Golden Horn out of an Iffraaj half sister to Debussy, an Arlington Million winner for the Gosden yard. Dame Ethel Smyth runs in a novice contest at Windsor tonight.

Read more . . .

'Treat this form with caution' – five Galway winners to take on next time

What's on this week: Shergar Cup returns and the Curragh hosts Group 1 action

'It's criminal' – Goodwood chief on failure to act over falling field sizes (Members' Club)

The Front Runner is our latest email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, a four-time Racing Reporter of the Year award winner, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content