Betting With, and Against, First Mission in the Goodwood Stakes

Multiple Grade 2 hero #4 First Mission (8-5) is the morning-line choice for Saturday’s $300,000 Goodwood S. (G1) at Santa Anita. The Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) ‘Win and You’re In’ tilt attracted a strong field of seven in total, but the Godolphin homebred is the one to beat in the 1 1/8-mile dirt event.

First Mission – With

• $10 trifecta 4 with 7 with 5,6 ($20)
• $3 trifecta key 4 with 5,6,7 ($18)
• $2 superfecta key 4 with 5,6,7 ($12)

First Mission – Against

• $10 trifecta 7 with 4 with 5,6 ($20)
• $3 trifecta key 7 with 4,5,6 ($18)
• $1 trifecta 5,7 with 4,5,6,7 with 4,5,6,7 ($12)

Trained by Brad Cox, First Mission is still relatively lightly raced with 14 lifetime outings to date, and the five-year-old son of Street Sense has been at his best in 2025 while stringing together four really good races in succession. The dark bay lands in a fine spot to put his best foot forward and register his initial Grade 1 victory in his first appearance in the Golden State. 

2024 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile (G1) victor #7 Full Serrano (2-1) will be the main threat to the favorite in his local bow for conditioner John Sadler. The South American import asserted himself with a trio of fine performances in the states last campaign, and the son of Full Mast made short work of an overmatched allowance field at Del Mar to commence his 2025 season. The six-year-old has recorded a pair of solid morning drills in the interim, and he will be forcing the action from the outside slot beneath Juan Hernandez. 

Of the three from the Baffert shedrow in the contest, #5 Nevada Beach (12-1) is my preferred one. The Los Alamitos Derby victor will face considerably more difficult foes in the test, and he has also never run with his elders. Still, the lightly raced son of Omaha Beach has a ton of ability and wouldn’t be in the race if he wasn’t training in a positive manner. The $260,000 yearling purchase will have no trouble enduring the nine furlongs, and he could sit a nice voyage off of the expected swift early splits with Mike Smith in the stirrups. I feel that the sophomore has an especially bright future. 

John Shirreffs’ #6 Express Train (20-1) had a good prep for Saturday when a rallying third in the Pat O’Brien S. (G2) at Del Mar most recently, and the eight-year-old has won or placed in 13 of 16 career performances on the oval, as well. I’m not fond of his chances of winning, but the son of Union Rags could be a key exotics piece at a healthy price under Hector Berrios.