After the tight turns of Chester we are back to a straight seven furlong contest at Ascot for the feature event on Saturday. The Victoria Cup is a competitive handicap with a maximum field of 29 runners with the bookmakers going 10-1 the field on Thursday.
The obvious market leader is Newbury Spring Cup winner Haaf A Sixpence. He tracked front-running Dream Tune through the first seven furlongs before going on to grab the spoils. The race looked top class with several of the Lincoln runners finishing behind him and it was a game effort. His style of racing suggests that the drop back to seven furlongs won’t inconvenience him. He has been given a 5lb penalty for that success and looks sure to run well although he may find Dream Tune harder to pass this time.
Dream Tune has been tried over a variety of distances from six to ten furlongs by Clive Cox but that latest run suggested seven furlongs could see him at his best. He has been drawn in stall two so you would expect him to bounce out and race prominently as he did at Newbury. Ryan Tate has been booked and takes off a handy five pounds, putting him 10lb better off at the weights with Haaf A Sixpence. He only weakened in the closing stages at Newbury and lost two places in the final 50 yards so it is not difficult to imagine him playing a prominent role over a shorter trip. At 16-1 he must have each-way claims.
Another leading contender is the progressive four-year-old Tartiflette who ran out an impressive winner at Haydock without her rider having to resort to the stick. She had Cape Classic and Highland Colori behind her that day and she looks capable of confirming the form despite a 6lb rise in the weights. Charlie Hills is making a good job of stepping into his father’s shoes and was unlucky not to win the 1000 Guineas last Sunday with Just The Judge. He saddles Glen Moss who ran on well at Kempton on the all-weather last time and looks capable of picking up a decent handicap this season.
With the draw certain to be a factor, it may be worth hedging your bets with a runner on each side and I’m keen on the chances of Ascot regular Lightning Cloud. Kevin Ryan’s consistent grey ran at this venue four times last season including when fifth in this race and a close third over the same trip in October. He runs particularly well for Amy Ryan and looked a certain future winner when finishing a close third at Thirsk on his seasonal debut. He looked to have plenty of ground to make up turning for home but was flying at the finish and would have got up in another couple of strides. He should be spot on for Saturday and 14-1 looks an attractive each-way price.
There are plenty of dangers including Jamesie who ran well in a couple of big handicaps last season and will have been sharpened up by his head defeat at Dundalk. I shall stick with Lightning Cloud and Dream Tune against the field.
Lightning Cloud (each-way) 14-1 Bet Victor
Dream Tune (each-way) 16-1 Skybet
