The defeat of Treve on day 2 of Royal Ascot was not as big a surprise as the pundits would have you believe. The going is clearly riding good to firm with Sole Power able to use his blistering speed on the opening day and The Fugue relishing her favourite surface in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes.
Treve won a soft ground Arc over a mile and a half and it is little wonder she was running like a crab in the closing stages of a mile and a quarter race on quicker ground. Of course, we would not have taken a lot of encouragement about The Fugue’s prospects from her previous run or the typically downbeat Mr Gosden.
Thursday is Ascot Gold Cup day and a year ago we were celebrating an ante-post 1-2 as Estimate and Simenon fought out the finish. Both horses are back again tomorrow but they have had mixed fortunes since. Estimate has only managed one further racecourse appearance while Simenon has run in Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Dubai!
According to the bookmakers, Leading Light is already past the post. The St Leger winner handles this quicker ground having won at the corresponding meeting and was impressive first time out this season. The ground is most definitely against Altano, Brown Panther and Tac De Boistron so each-way options against the favourite are limited.
One horse that will like the ground is Ahzeemah. This horse has been crying out for fast ground and looks worth a bet at around 25-1. The Godolphin horses haven’t been setting the World alight so far this week but one big win would put matters right.
Early birds have already snapped up the value with Cannock Chase in the 3.05 race. Sir Michael Stoute’s promising colt looked to have a few pounds in hand when winning the London Gold Cup and this doesn’t look the strongest race of the week by any means. Integral gave the yard a boost on Wednesday and Cannock Chase can follow suit.
John Gosden has a fine record in the Britannia Handicap and his horses are clearly running out of their skins with the victories of Kingman and The Fugue. Hunters Creek is his runner this year and you can ignore his recent form as he has not been getting home over ten furlongs. At the furlong pole he was bang in contention with subsequent easy winner Master Carpenter last time and that form gives him better than a 16-1 chance.
Cannock Chase 3.05 Ascot 5-2 Bet365
Ahzeemah 4.25 Ascot 25-1 Ladbrokes, Bet Victor
Hunters Creek 5.00 Ascot 18-1 Betfair
