Personally, I can admit to you that so far, this has been my worst Royal Ascot in living memory., and aren’t you glad I didn’t give you a race by race verdict as day one escaped me with just the odds on Palace Pier to my name. Love was my only decent bet on Wednesday and even 11/10 looked value to me, though my far smaller each way bet on Dancing King was scuppered from the start as connections decided not to front run for a change – you cannot second guess tactics I suppose, but I remain convinced he would have done a lot better if allowed to bowl along at the head of affairs.
On Thursday all hail Mohaafeth who was my only bet of the day (and I got some of the 15/8, whoopee), though it was disappointing to see Stradivarius fail as he did, and I suspect Frankie would love to run that race again as pilot error looked largely to blame. Friday saw the rains fall heavily to the extent that racing was in question and for the first time in many years I thought about pulling stumps. In the end I had the one bet on Alenquer and duly collected so somehow, despite all the shocks, I am actually up on the week.
Away from Ascot and a warning to us all about bookmaker terms and conditions that can slip under the radar. I was contacted recently by a punter still fuming after winning £1200 – only to have his account closed and his winnings withheld by a certain household name High Street bookmakers with his one and only crime – his wife also having an account – outrageous. Now I am an honest chappie and we all know the ruse of opening numerous accounts to garner all the bonuses we can get hold of (even if I haven’t done so personally), and in many cases the Ts and Cs prohibit more than one account per household or IP address. What I do find strange is their software’s complete inability to track that as you open your account, or while you are losing – yet when you win something worth noting, it suddenly kicks in to action? As you can imagine, I have numerous account so I can shop around for the best prices, but I also have two sons living at home in their 20s - why can’t they have a bet if they want to, of my wife for that matter? Worse still, what if (heaven forbid), I have a big win this afternoon and go to withdraw my winnings, only to find one of my family had a tenner on the footie last night – and therefore I am in breach of said rules and my winnings are effectively seized while blissfully unaware of my “sins”? It all seems a bit “big brother” to me and yet another way to weed out anyone who has a clue what they are doing – uncompetitive and something the Gambling Commission really ought to have a good look at together with a long list of other anti-punter practices they have been getting away with for years.
A little more bad news to deal with next with William Buick picking up what looks like a pretty harsh 11 day ban for a winning ride on 66/1 chance Reshoun in the marathon Ascot Stakes. I am no armchair jockey and I take my hat off to those who risk life and limb every day for our enjoyment, but surely if the rules say he “cheated”, deliberately or not, then the result should not be allowed to stand? Connections of the winner lose nothing, the runner-up may have even caught the leader barring excessive use of the whip, and for me they really need to change the rules accordingly
Back to something a lot more heart-warming and after talking about the 13 year-old Exitas winning at his venerable age, he only went and followed up last weekend at Worcester by over six lengths after travelling well throughout. My heart is in my mouth every time he steps foot on the track as I worry about a fall etc, but he remains in great form and could soon land his hat-trick.
As those who listen to the podcast will know, I work closely with my mate Ron Robinson at Post Racing and The World Of Sport, and he has been pretty adamant that this season’s three-year-olds are a pretty ropey bunch – I disagree slightly and suspect Jim Bolger would as well. I didn’t so much lower my expectations of Poetic Flare as question the amount of races he was having in quick succession, but what do I know? After winning the English 2000 Guineas at Newmarket he was a close up sixth in the French equivalent second in the Irish 2000 Guineas, and then won the St James’s Palace Stakes on Tuesday on his favoured faster ground by over four lengths. He may not prove to be a star when taking on older horses (we shall see), but he can’t do much better than he has so far and as things stand, he is quite clearly the best of his generation over a mile, if nothing else.
On to the racing…
Saturday Racing:
2.30pm Ascot
All the races covered today are tough as you would expect, but with four once-raced unbeaten horses at the top of the markets where do we start? Point Lonsdale and New Science for Aidan O’Brien and Charlie Appleby respectively see the two main powerhouses of European racing go head to head but the value call may well be Andrew Balding’s Masekela is the one I want to be on. Jockey Oisin Murphy is particularly sweet on the chances of the son of El Kabeir who looks well bought at 30,000 Guineas after he won first time out at Goodwood over short with some ease. The rain will help his chances as well and at 5/1 or bigger I will still be backing him each way, though I admit that the two at the head of the market will take all the beating.
Sadly, I am not touching anything else in these conditions and will settle for the one bet.
4.00pm Down Royal
There is racing away from Royal Ascot and here we have the Ulster Oaks over a mile and a quarter plus and with the going predicted to be Good leaving no excuses for anyone. Three-year-olds do exceptionally well here and have won the last three renewals, and on this occasion I am siding with Martinique who looks thrown in off a mark of 90 (yes, this is a handicap). She stayed on well to take her maiden over the mile at Listowel and looks sure to be even happier at this trip, and thanks to the race conditions she only has to carry eight stone ten, with the only horse rated higher than her (by four pounds) having to give her sixteen pounds! Fellow three-year-old Talacre looks interesting in first timer blinkers assuming they bring any improvement, but I am happy enough with my choice and won’t be looking elsewhere for the winner.
Sean’s Suggestions:
Nothing this week, sorry.
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