Andrew Asquith will be our man looking to crack the big Ascot handicaps this week. The Wokingham Stakes is the final installment on Saturday.
5.00 Wokingham Stakes
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Another typically wide-open renewal of the Wokingham and with there seemingly being no obvious bias on which side of the track you race, it is probably best to pick out a couple on either side.
How will the race be run?
As the Timeform pace map suggests, the majority of pace is in the middle, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if we had a split of three groups in this year’s Wokingham.
The contenders
The obvious horse on paper and one which has also been well found in the market is the Charlie Hills-trained Orazio, who has only had six starts but has won his last two handicaps over six furlongs in the style of a future pattern performer.
He has already beaten Probe this season and his latest success came over this course and distance in impressive fashion, never giving his backers much to worry about as he cruised into contention from halfway and easily moved clear in the closing stages. Firmer ground should pose a problem based on his juvenile form and a subsequent 9 lb rise may not be enough to stop him. But in a 30-runner handicap he is short in enough at around the 6/1 mark.
It is actually his stablemate, Tanmawwy, who makes most appeal to me at the prices. This horse was very progressive last season, winning three times in handicaps over six furlongs, and he was strong in the betting for the Buckingham Palace Stakes at this meeting 12 months ago. He pulled his chance away upped to seven furlongs on that occasion, though, and was spared a hard race one his chance had gone.
Tanmawwy ran a mighty race on his return to action at Doncaster in April, beaten a neck in second but shaping like the best horse at the weights. He started favourite on his latest start at Newmarket but you can put a line through that run, as the race unfolded down the near side and those who were drawn low were up against it.
A straight six furlongs in a strongly-run race will be perfect for him and he is drawn in and around the pace, so should get a good tow into the race. James McDonald teamed up with these connections to win the Royal Hunt Cup on Dark Shift last year and odds of around 25/1 look too big about his chance.
On the other side of the draw – and indeed the handicap – King’s Lynn also has to be of interest. He was a big eye-catcher in the King’s Stand a couple of years ago and was turned out quickly and finished third in this race off 100 just four days later (started 3/1 favourite). King’s Lynn again did the double last year, again not seen to best effect in the King’s Stand and finishing second in the stand-side group in the Platinum Jubilee.
This year he has been purposely targeted at the Wokingham, however, and judged on his latest effort at Chester this mark of 107 shouldn’t be beyond him, while he now has Harry Davies taking off a valuable 3 lb. King’s Lynn showed that all of his ability still remains and he is likely to be seen to even better effect back at Ascot, a track which really suits his run style. He is a class act on his day and he should be hard to keep out of the places provided a clear run.
One more horse at a double-figure price to add to the shortlist is Chipstead. He is a brother to July Cup and King’s Stand winner Oxted and he has developed into a smart sprinter over the last few years.
He stripped fitter for his reappearance when resuming winning ways in a five-furlong handicap at York last month, beating a solid yardstick who has since run well in defeat by three quarters of length. That was a career-best effort for Chipstead and, interestingly, he was declared a non-runner in the King’s Stand earlier in the week. The return to six furlongs won’t be a problem for him and he remains a sprinter to be positive about following a 4 lb rise.
Conclusion & selections
Given the strength and depth in the Wokingham I’d rather take a chance on two at a bigger price than focusing on those at the head of the market.
Therefore, both TANMAWWY and KING’S LYNN make appeal to me and I’m keen to have them both on side. The set-up of this race should suit both of these strong-travelling types and it is probably wise to have one on each side of the draw, too.
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