A fast and furious sprint is the feature of Glorious Goodwood’s Friday meeting (31 July) with 15 of the best speedsters around declared for the 1000m G2 King George Stakes.

While up-and-coming three-year-olds are represented, it is the well-recognised older sprinters who look to hold most of the cards, none more so than Night Raider.

A five-year-old who is looking for his seventh career victory, he struggled against the very best sprinters last season, but a winter gelding operation has propelled him to new heights this year.

He kicked off 2026 with a front-running G3 victory in Newmarket’s HKJC World Pool Palace House Stakes (1000m), then was too strong for his G2 rivals in Haydock’s Temple Stakes (1000m), demonstrating his tactical versatility, surging late from off the speed.

Although only 10th in another elite 1000m dash, Royal Ascot’s G1 King Charles III Stakes, he was only two-and-a-half lengths behind the winner, from an unkind draw and doing best of the seven horses who raced up the centre.

His jockey James Doyle is already enjoying a tremendous meeting with two Glorious Goodwood winners on Wednesday aboard Flora Of Bermuda and Wild Blossom, with both for Night Raider’s owner Wathnan Racing and Wild Blossom for his trainer Karl Burke.

Ahead of the meeting, Doyle predicted that Night Raider was his most likely winning ride of his Goodwood chances.

Doyle said: “I think the nature of the track suits Night Raider perfectly and he ran a superb race here last year on ground that was slower than ideal. I think he is my standout ride of the meeting.”

Goodwood is not an easy track. It requires tactical speed, with a change of gear needed to get a horse out of trouble, whilst a well-balanced horse that can hold its position is also crucial.

Night Raider fits that bill, as do speedsters like Jm Jungle, even though he has finished behind Night Raider three times this season. But Jm Jungle tends to peak at this time of year as he showed when gamely winning this in a tense finish last season. Ridden then as he is now by Jason Hart, who not only has partnered Jm Jungle in his last 22 starts, but is currently booting home winner after winner.

Rumstar is another popular sprinter. A 1200m Goodwood winner back in 2022, this month he became the first horse to win Sandown’s G3 Sprint Stakes (1009m) in consecutive years, each time swooping from well off the pace.

Jakajaro is rarely far from the winners’ money in these top sprints, running another cracker when leading most of the way before finishing third to Cover Up in this month’s G2 Sapphire Stakes (1000m) at the Curragh.

Asfoora got to within a short head of winning this in 2024, but a revival is required if the Aussie speedster is to land another Group-level sprinting prize, the last of which came less than a year ago under Friday’s jockey Oisin Murphy in the G1 Prix de l’Abbaye de Longchamp (1000m), one of France’s most prestigious sprints.

Swedish challenger Lamborghini Bf also adds international flavour. He has proved nearly impossible to beat over 1200m on the turf at Bro Park and the dirt at Jagersro.

The G2 King George Stakes (1000m) is carded as S4-4 and will be run at 10.35pm (Hong Kong time) on Friday, 31 July.

Photo: Healy Racing