William Haggas has smuggled a Group horse into a handicap and I suspect he will take all the beating at Goodwood

TACTICS can be everything in sport. But when you rely on tactics they can, of course, always go wrong.

That was very much the case for Ballydoyle in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot last weekend.

Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien made a rare mistake and got it wrong in the King George – but they can rebound in style in the Nassau with WhirlSportsfile

Jan Brueghel and Continuous had a nightmare.

But on Thursday at Glorious Goodwood surely it’s simple what Ryan Moore should do in the feature Group 1 Qatar Nassau Stakes, live on ITV.

Runner-up in the Oaks, and a horse that might have won that race on another day, WHIRL then made all to defeat King George runner-up Kalpana in the Group 1 Pretty Polly at the Curragh.

This afternoon on paper the only pace pressure is Running Lion, and even if she decides to go on Whirl can sit second and is a much better horse getting 9lb!

It all looks simple to me, even though the opposition includes the useful See the Fire (third in the Prince of Wales’s to Ombudsman) and Coronation Stakes-winning roughie Cercene.

Hopefully Whirl makes all the running, or nearly all!

Day three of Glorious Goodwood on telly starts with a handicap for three-year-olds over 1m2f.

William Haggas looks to have a live one here in HIGH DEGREE and I suspect he will take all the beating.

Of course the big negative is the draw – there is not a single rider who would want stall 18.

But Tom Marquand is class and I just hope he conjures up a passage for the son of Too Darn Hot who lost his maiden tag at Ffos Las last time in a tight finish.

I suspect this could be a Group horse in a handicap.

Up in class for the Group 2 Richmond Stakes over 6f next.

AZIZAM was drawn miles away from winner and reposing Havana Hurricane in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot and he looked like the animal gagging for this extra furlong when finishing strongly in third.

My hope has been off the track since then and lacks a bit of match practise but the odds are decent and he really should have strong eachway claims for Karl Burke and Sam James.

The Group 3 Gordon Stakes is for three-year-olds over 1m4f.

MERCHANT will be a banker for many after his Royal Ascot romp in the King George V Stakes.

Haggas will be thinking he’s got a right St Leger hope on his hands and I so no reason why he can’t be another for Marquand.

Remember he was drawn in stall 20 at Ascot and still won. The trainer won this with Desert Hero before he finished third in the Leger.

Finally, a handicap for more three-year-olds over 5f.

RUBY’S PROFIT has been dropped 1lb for a couple of defeats even though she ran crackers at both Epsom and Royal Ascot.

Prior to those two efforts the Jamie Insole runner had scored well at this course and the draw is great in stall eight.

Hopefully out, away and gone and very hard to kick out the frame at the very least. Come on Kieran Shoemark.

Good luck!