GOODWOOD PREVIEW | The Group 2 Vintage Stakes

The first Group contest of Glorious Goodwood gets underway on Tuesday, with seven runners featuring in the Vintage Stakes.

BERKSHIRE SHADOW (15/8) has impressed on his first two starts, with the two-year-old showing promise on fast ground at Royal Ascot.

Andrew Balding’s recruit surged clear of his rivals in the final stages of the Coventry Stakes, claiming some black type on his first attempt.

The Dark Angel colt is stepped up to seven furlongs for the first time and it wouldn’t be a huge shock if he claimed a first career hat-trick here.

However, he is unproven on soft ground and he will have to prove his versatility here.

July Stakes winner LUSAIL (9/4) is bumped back up in trip following his Group 2 success at Newmarket earlier in the month, with the Mehmas colt aiming to land his fourth success in five races.

Richard Hannon’s two-year-old has made rapid progress since his first start in May and looks destined to compete in Group 1 company further down the line.

The softer conditions do kick up some worry however, as his only defeat to date came when there was some cut in the ground.

ELDRICKJONES (9/2) finished three lengths behind Lusail at Newmarket just over two weeks ago, but his Royal Ascot performance gives him a chance here.

Roger Fell’s colt outran his odds of 66/1 in the Coventry Stakes, finishing a length and a quarter behind Berkshire Shadow in second.

The two-year-old makes his first start over this distance and he will need to prove himself in tougher conditions as well.

THE ACROPOLIS (17/2) will need to show some improvement after finishing five and six lengths off the pace in Group company for Aidan O’Brien, while Ralph Beckett’s ANGEL BLEU (16/1) carries some form on soft ground and could be of some interest.

AUSTRIAN THEORY (20/1) is relatively unexposed and could have more in the locker for Mark Johnston and SECRET STRENGTH (28/1) lines up alongside stablemate Lusail.

SELECTION

• Angel Bleu E/W @ 16/1