Aidan O'Brien has rallied together a typically strong team for the opening two days of Glorious Goodwood.
The Ballydoyle maestro trained a 1-2 in last year's Goodwood Cup when Illinois chased home subsequent Classic winner Scandinavia and both horses have been readied for a repeat bid in the week's opening Group 1 contest.
Much has been made about the form of the yard heading into the five-day festival but the excellent team in County Tipperary have quite the knack for turning up on the big days.
Of the three Group 1s ran across the meeting -- the Goodwood Cup, Sussex Stakes and Nassau Stakes -- O'Brien has amassed an impressive tally of 17 total wins.
We take a look at each of his runners over the first two days...
Day One
Haffner
Taking his chance in Tuesday's Vintage Stakes (14:25) is exciting juvenile prospect Haffner (2/1).
The Justify colt was defeated by stablemate and subsequent Group 2-placed Abraham Lincoln on debut at the Curragh, but shed his maiden tag next time out with a comfortable win at Newmarket.
He takes on enigmatic Al Hudaiba -- who got the better of Abraham Lincoln in the Superlative Stakes -- giving the yard a second crack at the Godolphin star.
Scandinavia
Scandinavia (10/11) lines up in the Goodwood Cup (15:35) with outstanding claims to become the first back-to-back winner since Stradivarius claimed the second of his four triumphs in 2018.
Victory at this track in 2025 was his first breakthrough at Group 1 level but he returns with a St Leger and Ascot Gold Cup added to his CV.
Illinois
Rounding off the O'Brien charge on day one is last year's Goodwood Cup runner-up Illinois (28/1).
He went off 7/4F against the aforementioned Scandinavia in 2025 but returns at a far, far bigger 28/1 after putting up a selection of disappointing efforts in the 12 months since.
Day Two
Gstaad
Wednesday's Sussex Stakes (16:10) sees Bow Echo and Gstaad (3/1) bang heads for the third time this season, with the O'Brien's Irish 2,000 Guineas winner hoping to come out on top for the first time.
Bow Echo put two-and-three-quarter-lengths between himself and Gstaad during their first meeting in the 2,000 Guineas but the latter managed to get a lot closer when they met in the St James' Palace Stakes; beaten by just a head.
Puerto Rico
Hopes for Puerto Rico (33/1) were extremely high following a brace of Group 1 victories in France as a juvenile, but he hasn't quite hit the heights at three.
Irrespective of his plateau in form, the stable is still aiming high, pitching the French 2,000 Guineas fourth into the deep waters of the Sussex Stakes. His run in last month's St James' Palace wouldn't fill you with encouragement but if anyone is capable of galvanising a underperforming horse, then it's O'Brien.
Dorset
Ballydoyle's third and final runner in the Sussex Stakes is Dorset (100/1) and his three-figure price tells you all you need to know about his prospects heading into Wednesday's feature contest.
His current form means that he shouldn't really figure in waters this deep and will likely be used to make the pace for his more fancied stablemates.
This race does have a precedent of throwing up a pace-making winner, however. Just last year, Qirat shocked the racing world by getting his head in front at a massive 150/1 when acting as the hare for owner-mate Field Of Gold.
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.
