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14:30 - Albany Stakes
The Albany for two year old fillies looks a real conundrum for this years renewal.
A lot of these fillies have only visited The racecourse once in their careers to date and eight of them are unbeaten.
To add to the difficulty factor most of those have been quite impressive in those victories.
Flotus won on debut at Goodwood and did it well that day. There was plenty of give underfoot, so if the forecast rain arrives it shouldn’t inconvenience.
Prettiest arrives here with the perfect one from one. Beautiful pedigree, she’ll see this trip out well and will progress as the season unravels.
Hello You is the selection. An expensive purchase who had a nice education on debut at Wolverhampton winning easily. It’s entirely possible she was bought with this race in mind. By Invincible Spirit she shouldn’t have any issues if the rain arrives, and she is taken to win this ultra competitive heat.
HELLO YOU (WIN)
written by Matt Polley
15:05 - King Edward VII Stakes
Alenquer was meant to be William Haggas’ Derby hope until he picked up a knock prior to the Dante. His Sandown form is fantastic have now beaten the eventual Derby winner, Adayar at on his sole start this season. He put up some good sectionals that day which is what first caught my eye. He stayed on very well which suggested he wanted further and he is bred for this new trip. The rain around will also help his chances and with major entries in the likes of the Arc and St Leger connections clearly rate him highly. A very good horse who look much better than his rivals this afternoon.
Gloucestershire and Tasman Bay could outrun their odds. Both are liked plenty by their trainers.
Yibir was behind Alenquer at Sandown and hasn’t really progressed past the standard Alenquer sets.
ALENQUER (WIN)
written by Harry Smith
15:40 - Commonwealth Cup
written by Chris Connolly
16:20 - Coronation Stakes
Empress Josephine got up right on the line to deny stablemate Joan Of Arc in the Irish 1000 Guineas and was subsequently supplemented for this race (with Joan Of Arc taken out of the race at the six-day stage).
Aidan O'Brien also runs impressive English 1000 Guineas winner Mother Earth who ran another decent race in the Poule D'Essai Pouliches just two weeks later, finishing second to surprise 66/1 winner Coeursamba. The former has posted both career victories to date on heavy ground, while the latter has won on yielding to soft, good-to-firm and has also posted solid placed efforts on both good and soft ground, so based on both form and forecast conditions it would be Mother Earth who would have to be my selection.
Potapova steps up in trip and takes a big jump in class to contest todays' race, however given she won by over six lengths on debut and then by eight lengths at Redcar on reappearance in May, she looks an extremely exciting filly who deserves to take her chance, while both Pretty Gorgeous and Shale are prior Group 1 winners who have already locked horns a few times and should both come on for their respective reappearance runs so neither can be ruled out.
MOTHER EARTH (WIN)
written by Dean Kilbryde
17:00 - Sandringham Stakes
A thirty-runner cavalry charge up the Ascot straight, full of unexposed fillies, Uncertainty over the draw and uncertainty over going conditions at 5PM the day after I write this, what could go wrong? This race should carry a punters wealth warning but that said with the race being 11/1 the field as I write this find the winner and were laughing all the way to the bank. So how can we reduce the field to a more manageable sample?
· 8 of the last 15 winners were rated between 91 – 96.
Applying this trend takes out a massive 22 runners in one go. We are left with Emeraaty Anna down to Glesga Gal now. Favourites have won 5 of the last 12 renewals here. Now finding the favourite this year is not easy but as I write Glesga Gal is amongst those vying for favouritism. Since blinkers were applied in November, she has won both her starts at Wolverhampton and been raised 16lb in the handicap. That said she won so well last time out and looked so far ahead of her mark I still think she is well in here. Moving up to a mile will also suit her and she is quite versatile regarding ground although may not want heavy ground.
Camdeboo trained by Joseph O’Brien who is still waiting for his first Royal Ascot win moves up from 5 1/2F to a mile here this seems an unusual move for a Muhaarah filly so I am happy to look elsewhere.
Ready To Venture trained by William Haggas showed promise on soft ground on her debut last year when second to Godolphin’s A’shaari she disappointed in a listed race on soft last time but is in good hands and is respected.
Although A’shaari (rated 90) falls just outside our trends bracket she must be considered. Very impressive when beating Ready To Venture last year she is getting weight from that rival today. She has disappointed in her two runs in listed races this year, both of those were over 1m2f. The mile trip in a strongly run race will suit her and she can outrun her odds. Her stablemate Divine Light the choice of William Buick must also be considered. Three winners in the last 16 years had run in the Nell Gwyn at Newmarket, Divine Light was 6th in that race this year. Like her stablemate she has been highly tried this year running in a Group 3 and a listed race. In both races she has run too freely to do herself justice. The expected fast pace and big field can help her settle and she is a big price for a Charlie Appleby runner. She was impressive on soft ground last year so should cope with any rain.
Most winners of this did not have more than 3 runs as a 2YO and Glesga Gal had five runs however, three of those were from late October onwards so I’m happy to put her forward. Her last win was so impressive I believe she is well ahead of her mark even with a raise of 10lbs. I went for a split stakes preview on a race yesterday and it paid off so hopefully this will too. I am also going to recommend each way bets on the two Charlie Appleby runners both are well regarded, been running in higher grade and both are well overpriced for runners from that yard. We have three runners drawn 10, 15 & 31 so have both sides of the track covered and three horses versatile with ground conditions.
GLESGA GAL (E/W)
DIVINE LIGHT (E/W) A’SHAARI (E/W)
written by Steve Marriott
17:35 - Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes
Scarlet Dragon won this race last year and it’s not surprising to see him come back for another crack. The only problem is that he has quite a few things against him. The handicapper weights him 4 lbs higher than last years win and he hasn’t been given the golden highway of gate 12, unlike last year. Moreover, he’s now 8 years old and you’d have to go back a fair way for when an 8 year old last won this race. However, the ground has been now declared soft and that does play into his advantage.
Tyson Fury has course and distance form, on soft ground, and is still relatively unexposed. He’s taken a bit of a bashing by the handicapper and has to overcome a disappointing race, at Ascot, last time out. Although the form of that race has stood up quite well, as did the form behind Al Aasy on his seasonal debut. He’s quite a large price, presumably due to the below par run last time out, but with the change in going and the fact he has previous on this ground at Ascot, he’s surely worth a squeak at 40/1?
I’m a big fan of Zabeel Champion and he seems to be attracting support now the ground has changed. Mark Johnson have been in fine form, winning the Gold Cup yesterday, and he seems to have almost everything going for him. The distance and new ground shouldn’t bother him and he’s been quite dominant in his class, defeating Global Storm (who came 3rd in the Copper Horse on Tuesday) last time out. Additionally, he’s 4 years old and this age group has a cracking record in this race. The only downside is, he’s slightly disadvantaged by the draw but if he can overcome that, I think he’s a major player.
ZABEEL CHAMPION (WIN)
TYSON FURY (E/W)
written by Kieren McHugh
18:10 - Palace Of Holyroadhouse Stakes
A 5 furlong handicap where currently 25 head to post and the going is good to firm.
Equality heads the market for the KVT Syndicate who have already had a successful Royal Ascot with Sir Busker coming 3rd in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes on Tuesday. Equality is a lightly raced horse, he's only run 3 times with a win coming in his latest run at Wolverhampton. Kieran Shoemark jumps on board on Equality's handicap debut. He's been well supported since being declared and has a good chance.
Significantly is a horse that keeps hitting the crossbar. 6 races with 1 win and 4 places. He's got a high draw in stall 24 which is ideal looking at how the sprints have been unfolding this week. I think the mark of 92 is workable and his first big field race could see the making of him.
I think both of these horses are going to be bang there, both with high draws and 6 places available with SkyBet. Im putting up both Equality & Significantly in the hope they both place and hopefully one can get their head in front.
EQUALITY (E/W)
SIGNIFICANTLY (E/W)
written by Charlie Sharp