Racing: Brunel to end drought for Holland

Nayyir may have nearly all the right credentials for today's Celebration Mile at Goodwood but, at a shade of odds-on, he makes little appeal as a betting proposition. Usually held up to exploit his turn of foot, he could present Mick Kinane with a tactical problem against the habitual front-runners Passing Glance and Brunel (3.5).

Nayyir may have nearly all the right credentials for today's Celebration Mile at Goodwood but, at a shade of odds-on, he makes little appeal as a betting proposition. Usually held up to exploit his turn of foot, he could present Mick Kinane with a tactical problem against the habitual front-runners Passing Glance and Brunel (3.5).

The Group Two event, which has attracted just seven runners, could be further reduced this morning as Passing Glance, beaten a head by Priors Lodge in last year's renewal, will not run if the going is heavy.

Nayyir, who is happy on any type of surface, has yet to finish out of the first two in three visits to the Sussex course and the Celebration Mile is tailor-made for him. He misses a 3lb penalty for his win in the Group Two Lennox Stakes there last year by just four weeks and his neck second, when he did not enjoy an interrupted passage, to Soviet Song in last month's Sussex Stakes over course and distance confirmed that Gerard Butler's six-year-old is as good, if not better, than ever.

However, looking farther back the relatively close proximity of Tillerman (sixth) and Hurricane Alan (seventh), both beaten in the Celebration Mile last season, suggests Nayyir may not be entitled to be odds-on.

You can't eat value, the old saying goes, but Brunel, as the sole Classic winner (albeit a German one) in the line-up, is surely over-priced at 20-1 on a course which is ideal for front-runners. The Marju colt made all in the German 2,000 Guineas at Cologne in May and although unable to dominate in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot after missing the break still finished fifth to Azamour on ground that was much too lively. Dropped back to six-and-a- half furlongs at Deauville next time, Brunel finished out of the frame but that was a Group One and the runner-up, Whipper, returned to the course to win the Prix Maurice de Gheest the following week.

Harry Herbert, the racing manager to Brunel's owners, Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, said: "I think we got it wrong with him at Deauville and we should see the horse that ran so well in the St James's Palace this time. I think he goes on any ground, as he's a big, strong colt who is improving."

The one drawback is that Darryll Holland, Brunel's regular partner, is on a losing run of 34 rides without a winner, but that sequence has surely got to end soon.

Some battle-hardened sprinters contest Beverley richest race of the season - the £30,000 Bullet Stakes. Although the question before this type of event is usually "who's turn is it this time?" the official ratings suggest this should only concern Baltic King (unlikely to appreciate the softish ground), Continent, Bishops Court and Caribbean Coral.

Continent easily has the beating of Bishops on recent Nottingham form but Caribbean Coral, held up to get the trip when unplaced in the Stewards Cup, is back to his right distance. On his only previous visit to the East Yorkshire course, Carribean Coral, who has improved 13lb this season according to the handicapper, finished second to Continent's stablemate Proud Boast.

Newmarket and Goodwood may be more fashionable but the best-attended course of the afternoon is likely to be Cartmel where they expect a crowd of around 10,000 today and twice that on Monday. The going is soft on most of the track, expect where it is heavy on the bend "under the wood," according to a spokesman.

The Dunganon trainer Jimmy Lambe sent Litron (3.50) over to land a gamble at the May meeting here and has again booked Richard Johnson for the seven-year-old in the Beginners' Chase. Although Litron jumps regulation fences for the first time he has had plenty of experience on the Northern Ireland point-to-point circuit.

Litron could complete a Lambe double as earlier Eiffel Tower (2.45) drops into a seller for the first time and has found the ideal opportunity in a desperate-looking affair.