Tag: Royal Ascot

Newmarket July Meeting Thursday 11th July

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After Royal Ascot, the Newmarket July course offers a far more relaxed day at the races. There is almost a carnival atmosphere for the three-day meeting but there is still plenty of top class racing to enjoy.

Several horses that narrowly missed out on Ascot glory turn out on day one. The opening Bahrain Trophy has been won for the past two seasons by John Gosden and he is represented by Feel Like Dancing, second in the Queen’s Vase. He looked like winning before Leading Light pulled out extra in the closing stages.

Dare To Achieve has been chalked up as favourite after winning an egg and spoon race at Pontefract so I’m tempted to take the 100-30 about Feel Like Dancing. He should hold Boite and Ray Ward on Ascot running and will almost certainly be held up for a little longer here.

Aidan O’Brien’s Sir John Hawkins will surely go off a warm favourite for the Coventry Stakes after finishing third to stable companion War Command. Even I (a confirmed sceptic about quotes for the classics on two-year-old races) was tempted to dip into the ante-post market for some 10-1 War Command after that so I’m hoping SJH will complement the form.

The Princess of Wales’s Stakes has got me scratching my head to find inspiration. Only seven runners but plenty of pros and cons. I had nearly convinced myself that old Wigmore Hall could have too much pace for these but I’ve since read that his trainer doubts he will be fit enough! Grandeur would be interesting with a race under his belt too whilst Danadana has a new partner in Ryan Moore.

Danadana won at Chester after trailing the field early on and then turned in a poor effort at Sandown. His style of racing should suit Ryan Moore so I’ll risk him at 9-2.

The race of the day is the handicap at 3.15. Plenty will regard Matrooh as a good thing after finishing third to Remote and Baltic Knight but he is stepping up in trip. I cannot leave out my old friend Space Ship who ran a stormer at Ascot to finish second. He’s on virtually the same mark as at Epsom previously and he could win this.

I also have a feeling that Goodwood Mirage is a lot better than he has so far revealed. Dettori hasn’t really got after him in his races yet and this could be the acid test. I’ll take Goodwood Mirage and Space Ship against the field.

Montiridge has to be the selection in the 4.25. This race had a lot of quality entries but has cut up badly and anything close to evens will do me for a horse that got within a head of winning the Jersey Stakes.

Feel Like Dancing 100-30 Skybet
Sir John Hawkins 9-4 Coral
Danadana 9-2 Skybet
Space Ship 9-1 Stan James
Goodwood Mirage 10-1 Ladbrokes
Montiridge 5-6 Skybet

Royal Ascot Day 5 Preview – Saturday 22nd June

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The bookmakers were the winners on day 4 with our double on the O’Brien horses thwarted by Hillstar. Congratulations to connections of Sky Lantern after she put Just The Judge firmly in her place. Perhaps we will see the grey take on Dawn Approach in the Sussex Stakes? We’re still well ahead on the week but the effect of the draw is a real head-scratcher going into Saturday’s big sprints.

On Thursday night it was an established fact that it was an advantage to be drawn low but that all changed with the result of the Buckingham Palace Stakes. Low numbers never got a look in with stalls 32, 30 and 24 the first three home. Could it have simply been a question of there being more pace on the near side or did Thursday nights watering all fall on the far side of the track? We will never know.

Our ante-post wagers on the Wokingham are Duke Of Firenze (10-1) drawn 31 and Nocturn (25-1) drawn 12. The form of Nocturn was not exactly boosted by a miserable effort from Enrol today but we’ve still got good value. My main concern is whether he will continue to hang left in his races. He got away with it at Newmarket and Windsor but I’m not sure he could afford to do it here.

As it is the last day of the meeting and we’ve got funds in the bank I’m going to put up another couple of long shots. Mass Rally left me cursing when swooping to catch Nocturn on the Knavesmire but has been leniently treated by the handicapper here. Whether or not stall 6 is good I have no idea but 25-1 does not do him justice. The other is Shropshire, trained by Charlie Hills. He suffered a nightmare run at Newmarket and is just the sort to pop up in a race like this. He’s coming out of 18 so we’ll have covered most eventualities!

In the opening race I like Autumn Lily at 14-1. Her stable companion Ihtimal has been slashed in price for finishing second to today’s runaway winner Kiyoshi but I liked the attitude of Autumn Lily at Haydock and hope she can at least reach a place.

In the Hardwicke Stakes I am keen to oppose Mount Athos, not because I have anything against the horse, but simply because the race he won at Chester was hardly worthy of the name. There are some good tough horses up against him tomorrow and Ektihaam will presumably attempt to run them ragged. I like Aiken but Gosden’s horses have been shaping as though they will benefit from the run all week and Sir John Hawkwood is another tough nut to crack. I’ll side with Ektihaam.

Our Diamond Jubilee hopes rest with Society Rock and Hawkeyethenoo. I’d like to see enough rain to ease the going a fraction for Hawkeyethenoo as I’m convinced he could spring a surprise. There seems to be growing confidence in Sea Siren so I’m going to have a saver on the Australian raider.

In the penultimate race I am keen on Rye House after the way he won at York. I thought he looked a possible Ebor contender that day and I’ll be disappointed if he can’t defy a 9lb rise in the weights. You could make a decent case for Hammerfest or Blue Surf but I’m going to have an each-way on Lahaag. He did nothing wrong when second to First Mohican last time out and should make the frame for team Gosden.

Finally, class should tell in the last race as Shahwardi is way better than these on his form in Australia last winter. Admittedly his last run looks pretty awful but I can’t believe Monsieur Royer-Dupre would bring him over to Ascot half-cooked. The rest of the field are the usual mixture of non-stayers and prospective hunter chasers.

2.30 Autumn Lily 14-1 Stan James

3.05 Ektihaam 5-2 Coral

3.45 Ante-Post Hawkeyethenoo 16-1, Society Rock 9-2
Sea Siren 9-1 Coral

4.25 Ante-Post Nocturn 25-1, Duke Of Firenze 10-1
Mass Rally 25-1 Betfair
Shropshire 20-1 William Hill

5.00 Rye House 6-1 Totesport
Lahaag 11-1 Bet365

5.35 Shahwardi 7-2 Coral

Royal Ascot Day 4 Preview – Friday 21st June

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Hat’s off to a Royal winner and a 10-1 ante-post tip! My Gold Cup wagers on Estimate at 10-1 and Simenon at 16-1 could not have done any better. The later success of Remote and an unlucky second from Space Ship at 18-1 have left us over 40 points up on the week to date!

I could have done better had I included the American No Nay Never in my selections yesterday but you can’t get everything right. Three days down and two to go.

I’m afraid that Friday’s card could be a case of “After the Lord Mayor’s show” with the poorest card of the week. It opens with the Albany Stakes and I have to confess to knowing little or nothing about this lot. The Cecil horse will have a following for obvious reasons but that is built into her early quotes of around 7-2. In fact, it is difficult to get too excited about that race or the King Edward VII Stakes in which there appears to be no credible opposition to Battle Of Marengo.

The only doubt with the O’Brien horse is whether he genuinely stays a mile and a half. On form, the others are playing for places. I thought Greatwood could be a live outsider for the Derby after his first run behind Windhoek but he ran a stinker in the Dante Stakes. Rather like Highclere’s Bonfire last season, it is probably best to leave him alone until he shows something better.

The Coronation Stakes is a chance for Just The Judge to gain revenge on Sky Lantern for her narrow defeat in the 1000 Guineas. Connections felt that the challenge came too late to give their filly time to respond and she certainly won well at the Curragh. I’m confident she will beat Sky Lantern but I’m going to have an each-way interest in the supplemented Pavlosk too. She did me a favour when part of a huge treble for Sir Michael at York and they have stumped up £25k to run here.

The Wolferton Handicap at 4.25 is a real puzzle with several formerly smart performers hoping to regain their form at the Royal meeting. Labarinto would have a chance on his best form but he usually needs a run to put him straight and Dick Doughtywylie is capable of much better than he showed at Chester. Sheikhzayedroad put together some very quick fractions to come from last to first at Epsom but it was a strange race and he was running practically sideways up the straight.

The Queen’s Vase looks as though it should also go to Aidan O’Brien via Leading Light. There is no great value in his price either so I’ll double him up with Battle Of Marengo for a bit of interest.

I tipped Enrol to beat my old friend Nocturn at Newmarket and she didn’t quite catch him. The extra furlong should be perfect and she has drawn stall 1. I couldn’t support her from a high draw but stall 1 could present its own problems if they run down the centre as on Thursday. Even so, Ryan Moore is riding as well as anyone and can steer her home.

Win double: Battle Of Marengo (3.05) 5-6, Leading Light (5.00) 2-1 Coral

3.45
Just The Judge 3-1 Paddy Power
Pavlosk (each-way) 8-1 Paddy Power

5.35
Enrol (NAP) 7-1 Bet Victor

Royal Ascot Day 3 Preview – Thursday 20th June

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Rizeena came to my rescue yesterday at 7-1 to limit the damage from some disappointing performances. It looks as though the fast ground is starting to have a real impact with some quick times and some horses running well below their best.

Who would have guessed that Chigun and Thistle Bird would run so badly? As for the Royal Hunt Cup…well, for once I have to agree with the post-race reflections of Channel 4. As soon as I saw Prince Of Johanne running diagonally across to get on the “wrong” side of the course I knew my fate. Poor Richard Hughes took the same decision on the well-backed favourite Stirring Ballad and then failed to get any sort of run whatsoever.

Anyway…onwards and upwards and let’s take a look at day 3. Our ante-post involvement is on the Gold Cup with Simenon (16-1), Estimate (10-1) and Biographer (40-1). All three have tumbled in price so I’m hoping for a similar result to the Queen Anne with a couple of nice place returns at least. I haven’t seen any reason to alter my opinion on the race.

I’ve been very impressed with Richard Fahey’s runners this week. He’s managed to get two juveniles into second place and Garswood ran a good race in the Jersey Stakes in fourth. I think that’s probably as good as he is but I wouldn’t be surprised if we didn’t see him drop back to six furlongs next time.

I’ll have to back Eccleston at 10-1, his representative in the opener. I’m expecting No Nay Never to be very difficult to peg back but there doesn’t seem great value at 5-1.

Having picked out The Lark ante-post for the Oaks at 33-1 I am a big fan of hers for tomorrow’s Ribblesdale. Of course I know that Ascot is something of a graveyard for Epsom horses but she didn’t have too hard a race there and I think she can win this. I am a little worried about the fast ground but 5-1 is too big.

I usually like a bet in the Britannia but this year’s field has got me a bit confused. You can usually rely on Haydock’s Silver Bowl as the best trial but the first and second from this year are not wanted by the punters? Wentworth has emerged as favourite after a nightmare run at Goodwood but it may be worth remembering that it was a pretty poor event. I’m certainly not going to be tripping over myself to take 4 or 5-1 in a race like this.

There is a bit of hype about Cape Peron and I can understand why. He won with a stone in hand last time and looks destined to make up into a group horse. As with The Lark, the quick ground is a worry but I’m prepared to take the risk at 7-1.

The 5.00 race features another horse going places in John Gosden’s Remote. I quite liked Baltic Knight before Doncaster but reassessed my views after he received a six-length drubbing. Baltic Knight then landed a big gamble at York so it is pretty obvious that Remote was masquerading as a handicapper. He is pitched in against horses with proven classic form but he is expected to prove up to the task.

The last race on the card is another minefield but I’m going to pick a couple out against the field. Space Ship would appear to be handicapped out of it on the face of his Epsom run but I don’t think anything went his way that day and he looked smart at Chester. Excellent Result absolutely bolted up in his maiden and could have suddenly twigged what the game is all about. Both are available at silly prices so they should give us some each-way interest.

Eccleston 2.30 10-1 Paddy Power
The Lark 3.05 5-1 Ladbrokes
Gold Cup 3.45 Ante-Post: Estimate 10-1, Simenon 16-1, Biographer 40-1
Cape Peron 4.25 7-1 Ladbrokes
Remote 5.00 100-30 Stan James
Space Ship 5.35 18-1 Stan James
Excellent Guest 5.35 14-1 Paddy Power

Tipsy Tipsters Royal Ascot Day 2 Tips

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Well, blow me. I was very much in the Animal Kingdom camp yesterday and couldn’t for the life of me seeing Declaration of war winning on all known form. Every bet went down the pan rather quickly, when, after 4 furlongs, Animal Kingdom was being rode along like a 60 rated horse that was entered so the connections could have a fun day out at the races.

My bank balance may be hurt by Day 1, but there are amble opportunities to do well on day 2.

Prince Of Joannes 14-1 Coral – 4:25 Ascot

In a previous post i did about Royal Ascot i flagged Prince Of Joannes as a potential great each way shout. He’s primed for this race, and is back down to his last winning mark. I’m sure it’ll be difficult to string back to back Hunt Cup victories together, but if any horse is well enough handicapped, and proven over C&D and on this ground, this is the horse.

Reroute VCBet 8-1 5:00 Ascot

This horse was so impressive on debut, it was jaw dropping. Yes, it was a class 3 maiden, yes the horses he was up against, we know very little about. The fact he was 0.016s off breaking the all time York 2m track record leads me to believe he could well be a very special horse, a reproduction of such immense pace could see him in with a really live shout of winning, and placing.

Al Kazeem 5/2 Boylesports 3:45 Ascot

I’ve also spoken about this horse quite a bit. A winner of a 4 runner Group 1 contest at the Curragh where he readily brushed aside Camelot, this exciting horse has the world at his feet. I’ve explained in depth his chances on my Royal Ascot preview from last week, so i wont repeat myself. Al Kazeem seems the most progressive horse in the lineup. Strong challenges come from Camelot, who could of just under performed the last day, and Maxios, the winner of a fairly average Group 1 in france, who could turn out be anything.

All aboard the Al Kazeem express?

Special mention: Trade Commissioner 14/1 William Hill 4:25 Ascot

In the form of his life last summer, but then went off the boil slightly. Had a strong word directly from the stable on this one. They all piled into the 25-1 available a few days ago, you could well struggling to get 14-1 by the morning tomorrow. Just passing on the word, could be a good horse to couple with Prince Of Joannes.

Royal Ascot Day 2 Preview – Wednesday 19th June

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Well, what a cracking start to the Royal meeting! Nearly 30 points up thanks to War Command. It was nearly so much better with Aljamaaheer tipped at 33-1 and Gregorian (51-1) just collared by Declaration Of War.

I was also happy to see Mars (12-1) and Mubaraza (12-1) sneak into the frame. Once again I thought Mars was unlucky and he has got Coral Eclipse written all over him. I don’t like trying to guess the running plans of Aidan O’Brien but I’m going to break my own rule and take the 20-1 about him for that race. The picture will become clearer after the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes but that was some trial.

I can’t even remember the last time I backed a two-year-old Royal Ascot winner for the following year’s classics. But what can we make of War Command? Would I be talking through my pocket if I thought the 10-1 for the 2000 Guineas was a good bet? Probably! Even so, it’s worth re-investing a fraction of the winnings as I can’t see that price lasting long. He’s already half that price with Coral.

Our ante-post bets for day 2 rest on Prince Of Johanne at 20-1 in the Hunt Cup and Beldale Memory at 5-1 in the Queen Mary. Dance And Dance didn’t make the cut but we get refunded on him.

The card opens with the Jersey Stakes and Richard Fahey’s Garswood is fancied to win this. I tipped him for the Free Handicap but felt that the 2000 Guineas was flying a bit high as well as doubting his ability to stay a mile. This looks much more his cup of tea and two seconds for Fahey on day 1 offer plenty of encouragement.

In the same race, I like Music Master at a good each-way price. He ran a stormer to split Dundonnell and Baltic Knight at Newmarket and Henry Candy thinks a lot of him.

There are some really tough fillies in the second race with Chigun carrying the hopes of Lady Cecil. Tiger Cliff ran a great race in the Ascot Stakes but I doubt he would have beaten the winner even if he had been kept closer to the pace. It’s impossible to knock Dank or Thistle Bird and the raiders Duntle and Sarkyla make it interesting. The front three are going to be tough nuts to crack but I’m having each-way on Thistle Bird and Sarkiyla.

I haven’t entered the fray on the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes but I think The Fugue and Maxios could give the big two plenty to do tomorrow. Both can be backed at around 6-1 in the hope of arriving fast and late.

Prince Of Johanne should give us a run for our money in the Hunt Cup at 20-1. I am going to throw in Fury in first time blinkers at 16-1 as he is handicapped to win on his best form. As usual you can make out a case for most of them and I expect Trade Commissioner to run well as Gosden had some near-misses on day 1.

Beldale Memory must go well in the Queen Mary and I’m surprised she is still available at 9-2. Clive Brittain’s Rizeena is clearly above average and it would be nice to see the old boy back in the winner’s enclosure at the Royal meeting. At 7-1 she can offer good support to our main hope.

The closing handicap could go the way of French Guineas fourth Zurigha. Both French Guineas races were like a complete shambles but she ran through courageously to finish fourth. There is nothing with form to compare to that, other than possibly Waterway Run who was just behind in sixth, and she looks overpriced at 12-1. I’ll be kicking myself if Waterway Run beats her so I’ll have a saver on her at 22-1.

2.30
Garswood 5-1 Coral
Music Master 16-1 Bet365

3.05
Thistle Bird 8-1 Paddy Power
Sarkiyla 9-1 Bet Victor

3.45
The Fugue 6-1 Paddy Power
Maxios 6-1 Sportingbet

4.25
Ante-Post Prince Of Johanne 20-1
Fury 16-1 Ladbrokes

5.00
Ante-Post Beldale Memory 5-1
Rizeena 7-1 Bet365

5.35
Zurigha 12-1 Paddy Power

Waterway Run 22-1 Coral

Ante-Post
Mars 20-1 Coral Eclipse Betfair
War Command 10-1 2014 2000 Guineas