Arbalet - who runs in the popular dartboard silks of Withernsea Thorughbred Limited - can strike at Ascot, according to Alex Hammond.
This year’s King George has caused a few ripples on the millpond after just four horses were declared for the mid-summer showpiece which in the past has offered a top-class clash of the generations.
It’s widely considered that this race draws the line in the sand where three-year-olds can genuinely take on their older counterparts and beat them.
Not this year, though, as not one competitor from the Classic generation will try to win this famous race on Saturday. Then again, what is normal about 2020? The shenanigans has been caused because those four horses hail from just two stables; so the Group 1 will essentially be Aidan O’Brien v Enable.
However, it’s at this point that we need to remind ourselves that we are lucky that Enable is still in training and will be trying to become the first horse to win three King Georges.
So let's embrace it and hope Frankie Dettori can outsmart his rival jockeys and overcome what is sure to be the sort of tactical test that would challenge the sharpest cookie.
Enable is 8/15 to win with Sky Bet with Ryan Moore’s mount Japan at 11/4. Oisin Murphy rides last year’s Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck (11/1) and Sovereign is also an 11/1 shot to add to last year’s Irish Derby victory for William Buick. Come on Enable!
It's set to be a busy weekend at Ascot with nine races on Saturday and eight on Sunday and with racing still taking place behind closed doors, you’ll see all 17 with me and our top team on Sky Sports Racing.
Away from the King George, the International Handicap is a puzzle crying out to be solved. The seven furlong contest is uber-competitive as you’d expect with Blue Mist worthy of his position as Sky Bet’s 4/1 favourite.
He ran well in the Silver Wokingham, not getting much luck and remains on the same handicap mark for this. He also looks to be favourably drawn in stall 19 and the step back up in trip will suit. Ryan Moore rides for trainer Roger Charlton.
However, despite a clutch of positives, his price is pretty slim and I’d be looking for some each way value, particularly as Sky Bet are paying six places instead of four. So, where could that value lie?
I’m taking a chance that Arbalet can run well from a relatively low stall (8) as he’s the type that could pop up at any moment for shrewd handler David O’Meara. He was bought at the horses in training sales for the not inconsiderable sum of 90,000 guineas in October and whilst he’s not a prolific winner, he’s favourably handicapped on his close second in this two years ago.
He’s 16/1 with Sky Bet and I’m hoping he can finish in the six. Incidentally, O’Meara also runs Shelir and he is also dangerous to dismiss, despite his draw in three.
Elsewhere, there is a cracking card at York on Saturday where the Sky Bet York Stakes looks like a mouth-watering contest.
I fancied Elarqam to win this Group 2 twelve months ago and win he did, but can he repeat the performance? He will line up against some tough opposition including last year’s Dante winner Telecaster and Roger Charlton’s smart performer Aspetar.
This presents a conundrum for me as Elarqam and Telecaster are right up there on my list of favourite horses.
Mark Johnston tried something new last time with Elarqam when he stepped up to a mile and a half in the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot, but he didn’t quite stay the trip. The drop back to this extended mile and a quarter suits well and I’m going to stick with him, despite Telecaster coming here off the back of a confidence boosting win in France last month.
Things will drop right for King Of Comedy at some point, although he’s not straightforward, so I’m banking on that not being on Saturday!
It’s Elarqam for me again (9/4 with the sponsors) as Jim Crowley hasn’t got much wrong this year and he has chosen to head to the Knavesmire to ride him, rather than take some decent rides at Ascot.
The jockey might be able to double up if a drop in trip and positive tactics work the oracle on Elwazir in the Sky Bet Club Handicap over a mile (3.15). He’s been disappointing, but his trainer Owen Burrows is having a superb season and if this horse can recapture what connections thought he was capable of, he’d be a potent threat here. He’s 10/1 with the race sponsors.
I’ll be keeping a close eye out to see if Carlos Felix is declared for the 1m 4f handicap on Sunday at Ascot (2.30). He really impressed me when winning on his second start in a handicap at Ascot two weeks ago and on what he showed that day, a 10lb rise in the handicap won’t be enough to stop him.
The step up to this trip is exactly what he needed and you wouldn’t bet against him staying another couple of furlongs in future. He cost a whopping 700,000 Euros as a yearling, so there will have been plenty of expectation for him to reach a pretty high level.
He’s a stunning individual, is lightly raced and is very much on the up. He’s 6/1 with Sky Bet to continue his progression for in-form trainer David Simcock.
