Well we can file last weekend under pretty typical I am sorry to say as I decided to wait until Royal Ascot week for this article – and promptly selected the runner up in both the 2000 and 1000 Guineas in Ireland on Friday and Saturday – you really could not make it up but hey ho, that’s racing for you, all the highs one minute and troughs of lows the next.
To say this year feels different is akin to saying the sea is wet but as I normally head off to Royal Ascot to share stories with some olds friends over a few beverages, the behind closed doors version this season will seem very strange indeed and is yet to push that forcibly on the enthusiasm button.
Whatever I may think the fact is we do at least still race (and the safety of the public have to come first) though it will all feel a bit strange – yes the racing will be as first-class and competitive as ever but no drinking no dressing up and no singing around the bandstand after racing makes 2020 a shadow of former renewals.
Reminiscing over and on top the racing itself and with a seven race card on Tuesday common sense suggests we cherry pick in our never ending quest for bragging rights if we can only find a winner. The fact that we start with a 24 runner handicap will see many a Jackpot type bet go begging at the beginning of the day though I will give it a go using both Motakhayyel (carries the Hamdan first colours ahead of the favourite) and Gifted Master (well weighted at his best), though with precious little confidence and only as part of ap pan to get rich quick and welcome in early retirement. Neither count as good things by any stretch of even my fertile imagination, and I will wait for the group races before opening the wallet any further.
Most years I am supremely confident I have the winner of the Queen Anne Stakes (1.50pm), rightly or wrongly, but this year I cannot find the banker I am always hoping for, though I do expect a big run from Mustashry who is officially he highest rated contender, and looks massively overpriced at 14/1 or so for those who like an each-way chance. Once again I find myself frustrated by the bookmakers (generally) only paying out for the first three home in a 16 runner race (we would have another place were this a handicap), but with the Stoute yard in great form, he should go well. I do note Jim Crowley appears to prefer Mohaather of the three Hamdan horses which may be a hint in itself, but my mind is made up and he will join my jackpot slip as a previous course and distance winner.
Onwards and upwards with the Ribblesdale next and once again the betting has my head spinning. Ennistymon sits third in the betting for Aidan O’Brien with James Doyle on board yet further down we see Ryan Moore on board Passion for the same stable – possibly an owner’s call but who knows at this stage and from a stable more than capable of keeping their own counsel when needed. Born With Pride is expected to improve for her Kempton seventh for William Haggas, but it seems safe to say that Oaks entry Frankly Darling caught the eye when winning her maiden by an easy five lengths at Newcastle on the first of the month. This is a huge step up in class/leap of faith so I leave it to you to decide whether 7/4 is value or not, but she appears to be Frankie Dettori’s pick ahead of stable companion and second favourite Miss Yoda and should at the very least go close.
On we go and I am sorry to say I have zero interest in the King Edward VII Stakes at 3.00pm thanks to the odds on Mogul. His juvenile form includes a Group Two win at Leopardstown and a close to four length fourth to 2000 Guineas winner Kameko at Newcastle and he should be better at middle distances this season. That said, Andrew Balding seems happy enough to take him on with Kameko’s stable companion Papa Power who is on for a hat-trick while David Simcock sends the unexposed and unbeaten Listed winner Mohican Heights here as well. Although I accept Mogul has the better form in the book there are more than enough doubts in my mind to let the race go financially, though I will of course be keeping a close watch for future contests.
Personally, I am really looking forward to the King’s Stand Stakes at 3.35pm when the best of the UK sprinters do battle over the five furlongs and on the anticipated Good ground. Again, we see a generation v generation event headed by the classy Battaash, runner-up to the now retired Blue Point for the last two seasons and looking to make amends. He is a lovely horse and the best on the ratings but at odds on he may be worth opposing with an each way alternative. Glass Slippers won the Abbaye last season at the age of three and will be a force to reckon with if fit enough on her return but 4/1 isn’t quite big enough and I will take a risk to small stakes about Liberty Beach. She gets nine pounds from the favourite as a three-year-old and a filly (Lady Aurelia won this in 2017 at the same age so it can be done), but perhaps more importantly, has the benefit of a recent run when scoring at Haydock in lesser company. A fast run five furlongs may well be what she needs to be seen at her best, and if the market leaders have an off day, she could yet surprise them all under jockey Jason Hart who I have a lot of time for.
Two races to go (I am not claiming to give all or any winners, merely talking you through the card), and the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes over the mile looks intriguing at 4.10pm. Nazeef heads the market and looks a pretty tough nut to crack but how can I resist the 10/1 about Magic Lily as an each way option? After winning twice at Meydan she was a highly respectable second to Barney Roy in the Jebel Hatta (Group One) before being found out when third over ten furlongs at Newmarket earlier in the month. Dropped back to the mile I expect her to be up in the van throughout and kicked for home two out and if that is the case she may well take some catching.
Even when there are no on-course punters whose wallets and purses need one final emptying we still end with a handicap and one over two and a half miles at that. Without a single distance winner in the field the winner will be breaking new ground and that sends alarm bells rings when it comes to considering a selection. Boring and sheepish as it makes me, I can see why Verdana Blue heads the market. Trained by Nicky Henderson and to be ridden by Ryan Moore, the eight year old is rated 60 lbs higher over hurdles and looks thrown in here off a mark of 100 with the marathon distance quite likely to play to all his strengths.
Sean’s Suggestions:
Liberty Beach each-way 3.35pm Royal Ascot Tuesday
Magic Lily each-way 4.10pm Royal Ascot Tuesday
Comments