Wednesday's Meetings Royal Ascot Flat 7 Races 2:30-6:10p.m. Worcester N/H 7 Races 1:35-5:09p.m. Hamilton Flat 7 Races 1:50-5:15p.m. Newcastle(E) A/W 8 Races 5:19-8:55p.m. Wexford(E) N/H 7 Races 5:20-8:28p.m. Ripon(E) Flat 7 Races 5:26-8:40p.m. Racecards At The Races Sporting Life Racing Post Good Luck
Royal Ascot 17,00 Point Lynas 25/1 e/w WH, bet365, Lads and coral six places, 20/1 sky eight plaeces 18,10 Supersonic Man 14/1 e/w five places
Couple of small bets for me today 1620 Mostahdaf 1700 Chasing Aphrodite 1810 Maximum Impact Backed individually each way and in an each way treble.
I should have put the stopwatch on how long it would take me to eliminate most of the Royal Ascot card today for betting purposes. Midnight Affair won the Hilary Needler at a shade of odds on at Beverley and I hope it runs well but I won’t do the two year olds at this meeting; and Karl Burke’s filly Beautiful Diamond will probably sluice up. Too many first time handicappers in the Kensington Palace and one of them will probably win. Luxembourg short in the Prince Of Wales because the bookies will want to lay Adayar as the yard is stone cold. None of mine in the Royal Hunt Cup and the finale is for two year olds. So that leaves two possibles... Who is the Duke Of Cambridge these days? Does Wills still have that title now he is Prince Of Wales? It seems quite clear in the race of that name that Lightship and Internationalangel are out of their depth, the latter six year old having only ever won over seven and not troubled the judge in Meydan this year. I like Rogue Millennium and whilst her second to Free Wind reads well there is no reason why dropping to a mile for the first time is going to be successful today. Queen Aminatu’s most recent three wins have been on the kitty litter, she has never won at a mile and if she gets going too late as she did last time out, she is running for a place at best. Grande Dame ran her career best last time in the Sun Chariot (where she did finish ahead of Prosperous Voyage). I would not be too worried about her lack of race fitness and she should give a good account on her 2023 debut. The two key form races this year featured the rest of the field. On her first start for Joseph O’Brien, Jumbly was a staying on second in the Lanwades Stud Stakes at The Curragh, never troubling the front-running winner while stablemate Honey Girl was the beaten favourite, running out of steam at the business end of the race chasing a hat-trick. The latter may not have given her running that day but it is hard to make a case for her reversing that form and Ryan Moore is on Jumbly again and the expensive purchase will go off favourite here. PROSPEROUS VOYAGE set out to make all in the Dahlia at HQ but once she had been headed a quarter of a mile out she finished a well beaten fifth. The tactics changed at Epsom, although perhaps that was forced on Dettori by her missing the kick, but she beat Random Harvest with a bit to spare, Potapova was behind in fifth and she was reversing HQ running with Astral Beau in third. Given there is no obvious pace angle other than Ralph Beckett’s filly, Frankie may be setting the fractions today and hoping to run the finish out of Jumbly. The Queen’s Vase could be viewed as the season’s first St Leger trial with the three year olds lining up for the same trip as on Town Moor. There are five or six who appear to have little form chance today and I have to wonder how they do not set the race conditions to exclude the likes of 250/1 shot Steven Seagull running off a rating of 46 (simply have a minimum rating of 80 – it is a Group 2 race). St Vincents Garden has only won a maiden race, there is no reason to believe that William Buick’s mount will not get the trip but he has a bit to find with the principals. Saint George followed up a win on the kitty litter with victory over this trip on turf at Doncaster. Whilst he needs to improve on that there is every prospect that he could be seen finishing last for Oisin Murphy. The thrice raced Peking Opera comes in off the back of a Listed win at Naas where Etna Rosso was second, Nurburgring fifth and St Vincents Garden sixth. The ground should be quicker today but there seem few grounds for believing those that finished behind Aidan O’Brien’s charge will reverse the placings over a furlong further. Nathaniel colt Chesspiece takes a step up in grade having won a York handicap last time but that was off a rating of 96 so he should be good enough to make an impact here. Gregory will start favourite on the strength of two easy wins, the latest in the Listed Cocked Hat at Goodwood (Hadrianus third) and that form looks better than the Naas race but he was a 4/7 shot! He is the top rated in the race and will take some beating. The way that results went on Day 1, I am going to take a small punt on The King’s horse CIRCLE OF FIRE. He won a novice event last backend and split two Appleby horses in the Newmarket Stakes at HQ on his reappearance. Last time he ran in the Lingfield Derby Trial, transferred to the kitty litter, and was more than five lengths third (Think First and Ndaawi behind). That form hardly looks good given the running of the first two in the Derby but Sir Michael Stoute has not brought him today simply to ingratiate himself to the owner!
What a weak Group 2! Fair play to the connections of Rogue Milennium though. It takes some guts to spend that money while coming down in distance. Need to bin 20% of these races
This is the toughest Royal Ascot I have ever known to pick a winner! not made any easier these days now that they run 7 races each day. Not really sure why that is necessary to be honest.
Hmm, don't think myself it was such a weak affair, the winner is quite a talented filly, and has not had a lot of lady luck in the past. Great to see such a small stable get an RA winner. Yes, indeed, it did take a lot of guts by the connections to put-up such a large sum for their filly to be supplemented and get into the race.
But not a Group 2. These older fillies races have their place but if Prosperous Voyage is a Gp2 horse then the standard has really slipped. It was a good race but not Group 2, maybe Group 3. We are all winners these days.
Dettori has had a disappointing Royal Ascot, but he gave a sublime ride on Gregory in the Queen's Vase. It's a good job they've shortened the race by 2f (why did they do that?) because he'd have won by 10 lengths if they hadn't. He rode a perfect staying race on a proper stayer. In face Gregory may turn out to be a stayer in the mould of Ardross and Le Moss: the Ascot Gold Cup next year?
