Scoop 6/Ew Lucky 63 & Acca: 1:50 Ascot - Chindit 8/1 2:25 Ascot - Cliffs Of Capri 11/1 (5 Places) 3:00 Ascot - Johan 4/1 3:15 York - Irv 12/1 3:50 York - Barrington 9/1 (4 Places) 4:10 Ascot - Frontispiece 9/1
Ascot 12.40 Mohawk King Ascot 1.50 Saeiqa Ascot 2.25 chiefofchiefs Ascot 4.45 star cactus York 5.35 bay of whispers e/w super yankee
I was reading this thinking bloody hell, stop with the waffle and just tell me who you think will win so I can cross them off
Three long shots Ascot 14:25 Arbalet 14/1 e/w Tramore 18:45 Nodoubtaboutthat 12/1 e/w 19:15 Soloheadbeg 18/1 e/w
19:30 Doncaster - Mac Ailey (Usual Saturday punt quite late today, as don't fancy anything at Ascot and the other afternoon meetings. Selection has decent chance on form, distance OK, and suited by the going (can handle most ground conditions). Tim Easterby yard have booked Rachel Richardson to take the ride. Still 10/1 with Willie Hill at time of writing; doubt if SP will be any better.)
Comp picks below,All wrapped up in a lucky 63 and acca, done the ITV7 also for minimal stakes Newmarket Data Protection 4.00 York Queens Order 12.55 Queen of Kalahari 3.50 Tabaahy 4.25 Ascot Twaasol 1.50 Gin Palace 2.25 ew Nap Lucky 63 & acca part 2 Renaissance Rose 1.15 Ascot 3/1 Prompting 1.30 York 15/8 Golden Hind York 14.05 4/1 Tsar Ascot 3.00 15/8 Hartswood York 3.15 11/4 Ironclad 4.00 Newmarket 3/1 Telecaster already done in a single and got an early treble on Faros Lane Han Solo Berger Mayass Good luck all
Nice write up......probably, but no mention to the winner....ESHAASY 6/1. Very lightly raced, sure to have improvement to come and well drawn to boot. Gets in at the bottom of the weights with a 3yo WFA allowance and a very tidy apprentice for good measure. Could turn this into a procession!
Since 1998 we've had 66 3 year olds run in the race and only one of them has won (21 races competed in). 10 have placed. 4 year olds have won 13 of the 21 races, from 181 runners. If you backed all 4 year olds to £1 level you'd be up £257 from the 21 races.
Next time we hear one of those trainers whinging about lack of prize money, remind them that three of the four runners declared for the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes crossed the Irish Sea to try and win over £200k. Okay, so it is not £1.2m but it would feed a lot of horses and buy bling for the other half. In the 2:25, Spanish City owes me too much money from last season so he is bound to pop up today. The field is dominated by others with a similar profile – always running a good race in the big handicaps but never actually winning one. Vale Of Kent has Frankie’s services but has disappointed a couple of times this term and has to give everyone weight. Gin Palace has won his last two but his apprentice rider may find this a little more challenging than the eight runner affair last time. Will the Tsar be able to fend off The Queen’s Evening Sun in the 3:00? Lincoln Bright’s efforts since chasing home The Queen’s colt suggest it could have a generous opening handicap mark. It is very hard to summon up any enthusiasm for the races at HQ as a form punter. I was looking for something backable in the York Stakes but last year’s winner Elarqam has hardly been lighting up the world this season, Regal Reality did not match last year’s effort in the Eclipse and this is surely not Lord Glitters’ trip. I simply cannot summon up any enthusiasm for Telecaster despite his win in France, so that leads me to Roger Charlton’s Aspetar (warmed up with a Listed race second on the Eclipse card) or John Gosden’s KING OF COMEDY (warmed up in a Newbury Group 3 over a mile) who was second in last year’s St James’s Palace and not beaten far in the Juddmonte over course and distance (Elarqam just in front). I cannot fathom why Richard Fahey, in his column on Sporting Life, states that Hartswood is not certain to stay a mile but rain would help his cause. He also says of his other runner Tadleel (one career turf win) that he would “give him a chance” – if he starts the race, he has one.
Tsar ran in a maiden that was discussed a fair bit on the forum last year. Al Suhail was the one I felt would do best long term from that race and after a dismal Guineas run he was pretty impressive last time. The Hannon horse who won that maiden has had an absence and not come back as expected this year with a narrow win from a colt rated about 90 and then a very disappointing run next time. The other horse I felt worth taking from that maiden was Tsar and he is starting to look the part now. I think there is more to come and feel he can defy his rise in the weights today. Eshaasy also ran in that maiden last year and has a chance in the International Handicap but the odds look tight in a 20 runner field. 3.00 Ascot Tsar 9/4 At Newmarket in the 1.40 newcomer Dhahabi is one I noted from the entries midweek. A son of Frankel out of Golden Horn's Dam, I didn't know they has paid £3.1 million Guineas for him. He faces two close rivals in the betting with previous experience but I didn't think the form was strong and the other Godolphin horse doesn't have any fancy entries whereas Dhahabi is in the Futurity Stakes. The Beckett horse was gelded and the obviously limits the targets for him long term. I felt Dhahabi had to win this to justify the entry he holds and after drifting this morning he seems popular, Hopefully 2/1 beats SP, if not there may be a problem. 1.40 Newmarket Dhahabi 2/1
At York Telecaster comes in after landing a French Group 3 nicely last time. The trainer has pitched him in at a sensible level here but my worry is that it was a weak contest at Longchamp last time. The fact that Telecaster was 8/15 Fav for that race tells its own story. I did King Of Comedy last time as a sort of Last Chance Saloon for the tricky customer. His enthusiasm seemed lacking and he only ran on late after it was clear he was held from some way out. I thought Elarqam was a massive lay last time. It was 12F and soft ground and he was never going to be suited by that. He can be frustrating and he's not the superstar he was once thought to have the potential to become but he is decent and I felt he was a fair play at 2/1 in what looks a moderate enough renewal. 2.40 York Elarqam 2/1
