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Group One winners Air Force Blue, Dick Whittington, Lumiere, Charming Thought and Toormore feature among 41 entries (up from 39 in 2015) for the £300,000 Group Two Qatar Lennox Stakes on day one of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, Tuesday, July 26.
Air Force Blue, one of six Aidan O'Brien-trained contenders for the seven-furlong contest, was crowned Europe's champion two-year-old last season following a hat-trick of Group One wins, while Lumiere (Mark Johnston) was the game winner of the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket in October.
Charming Thought (Charlie Appleby) also boasts Group One-winning form at Newmarket as a juvenile, having captured the Middle Park Stakes in 2014, while Dick Whittington (Aidan O'Brien) took the Phoenix Stakes earlier the same year.
Toormore(Richard Hannon), who was Europe's top juvenile in 2013 following success in the Group One National Stakes, made all to win last year's Qatar Lennox Stakes. The Godolphin-owned five-year-old could bid to emulate the only previous dual winner of the race, Nayyir, who recorded back-to-back victories in 2002 and 2003.
Nine Godolphin entries also include last year's runner-up Dutch Connection (Charlie Hills), recent Jersey Stakes scorer Ribchester (Richard Fahey) and last season's Coventry Stakes victor Buratino (Mark Johnston).
Nemoralia (Jeremy Noseda) was runner-up in the Group One Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot last week, while Limato (Henry Candy), who has twice been second at Group One level, and the 2015 Group Two Celebration Mile winner Kodi Bear (Clive Cox) have also been entered.
So Beloved enjoyed a superb first season under the care of Yorkshire handler David O'Meara last year, including a head success over Here Comes When (Andrew Balding) in the Group Three Doom Bar Supreme Stakes, run over the same course and distance as the Qatar Lennox Stakes, in August.
The six-year-old stormed to a facile win in a seven-furlong Listed contest on his seasonal return at Haydock Park on May 7 and met trouble in running when coming home third behind Home Of The Brave (Hugo Palmer) and Convey (Sir Michael Stoute) in a Group Three race over the same course and distance on May 28.
O'Meara reported: "So Beloved is well at the moment. He met a bit of traffic last time out at Haydock and was a shade unlucky not to finish a lot closer.
"He runs in the Criterion Stakes this Saturday (at Newmarket) and we will get this weekend out of the way before deciding which race to consider at Goodwood.
"He's entered in the Qatar Sussex Stakes as well and I will have a chat with the owner after we get this week's run out of the way - he might be keen on going for the big pot.
"So Beloved loves Goodwood and it seems to bring out the best in him."
Other Qatar Lennox Stakes entries include Arod (Peter Chapple-Hyam), who was runner-up to Solow in last season's Group One Qatar Sussex Stakes, Jersey Stakes second Thikriyaat (Sir Michael Stoute) and prolific sprinter Don't Touch (Richard Fahey), who has won seven of his eight starts.
