Easy enough to start by eliminating the two juvenile contests that bookend today’s card.
The Kensington Palace Stakes features a huge field of fillies and mares over the straight mile with not a great deal of recent winning form available except for the Andrew Balding filly All Moonshine, winner of three of her four career starts. Drawn in the middle of the field for last year’s winning trainer she has clearly been laid out for this since completing a hat-trick on the kitty litter in February. Preceding that over the same course and distance is the cavalry charge that is the Royal Hunt Cup, which I think I will also give a miss.
So that reduces the card to three races for betting purposes; however, a quick look at the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes betting eliminates that one as well. There are a few in the field that owe me money but the one that I never get to back is an unrealistically short-priced favourite for such a competitive race. That is Andrew Balding’s filly Blue Bolt, winner of four of her seven starts including her warm up race at Goodwood at the beginning of May. This is not a good race for favourites and last year’s winning yard is represented by the mare Friendly Soul, pulled up when favourite at Haydock on her return to action when most of the rest of the card was subsequently abandoned because of ground safety. I would not be surprised if Cathedral or Shes Perfect collected here as they both owe me money.
I guess that the Queen’s Vase is devoid of NH trainers because they do not have any three year olds in their yards. There is plenty of potential amongst the eleven runners, all encountering fourteen furlongs for the first time. Magnetude is one of the most experienced in the field, his only turf win in a Chester handicap last time where he made all, a feat that might be difficult to reproduce today. Ranga Tang won a Salisbury maiden at the fifth time of asking and does not look to have the scope of several others here. Frankel colt Mr Colonel only has a victory in a four horse race to his name in five starts and was six lengths third in the Chester Vase last time. Del Maro has only won a five runner novice in seven career starts and was most recently denied in a photo in the Cocked Hat Stakes at Goodwood. Karl Burke’s Ravenspire has collected a pair of novices, most recently a four runner affair at Haydock; and the Sea The Stars colt will need to step up on that today. The King’s Point Of Law was long odds on to collect a maiden on his second start and did so with the minimum of fuss putting him in the ‘could be anything’ bracket. Joseph O’Brien’s Limestone has completed a hat-trick of small field victories last time in a five runner Navan Listed race where Asakir was runner up. New Bay colt Limestone has never run on quick ground and neither has John Murtagh’s Zarak gelding Asakir, fitted with cheekpieces here. Aidan O’Brien’s Port Of Spain has run in pattern races and only has a Punchestown maiden race win to show for his efforts. After finishing fifth in the London Cup last time he now steps up half a mile back in pattern company. Likely favourite Galiyan won a seven runner Chester maiden on his second start that puts him in the ‘could be anything’ bracket; however, my preference in the ‘could be anything’ contenders is Archie Watson’s WAREETH. The Sea The Stars colt was six length winner of a ten furlong novice at Salisbury last time after disappointing in the Feilden Stakes and steps up half a mile today. In the absence of his wife, Tom Marquand takes the ride on a horse at an each-way price.
The feature race might go some way to telling us where some horses are going to run the rest of the summer. Of the eight entered in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, it is fair to eliminate Mississippi River and Devil’s Advocate from contention as they are clearly here as pacemakers for their yard’s other runners. Dancing Gemini contested five Group 1 races last term and his best finish was second in the Lockinge. He was eighth in the Queen Anne in 2025 and I see no reason why this five year old is suddenly going to break his Group 1 duck against these Group 1 rivals. The mare See The Fire has only ever won once against the boys and was third in this last year, more than four lengths behind the returning winner. Whilst last year’s Epsom Oaks/Irish Oaks/Yorkshire Oaks winner Minnie Hauk has won at this trip, she was nearly nine lengths behind Almaqam in the Tattersalls Gold Cup most recently (excuses made) and whilst that was a career best for the winner, he had previously been third in the Champion Stakes. That leaves the two market leaders. Arc winner Daryz has won both starts this term, the five runner Prix Ganay (Aventure more than five lengths third) and the five runner Prix d'Ispahan (Sosie more than seven lengths third); however, his one career start on quick ground saw him trail in last in the Juddmonte International with See The Fire fourth and Ombudsman the impressive winner. It is hard, therefore, to make a case for the French raider to steal the crown off the Gosden horse that has never been out of the first two and warmed up for this by giving 7lb to Gethin in the Brigadier Gerard.
