Our form expert selects 10 horses to consider for Royal Ascot, from Group One horses to handicappers, with the big meeting looming large.
ASJAD
It seems a bit early for a Wokingham bet before the six-day entries are even out, but the 33/1 about James Horton’s ASJAD is a tempting carrot dangled by one or two layers.
A winner of two six-furlong handicaps this season for John and Jess Dance, at Redcar and York off marks of 95 and 99, respectively, he’ll be of interest under a 5lb penalty for his Knavesmire success, even if that does make him 1lb wrong.
The son of Iffraaj is sufficiently unexposed after just seven starts and his off-the-pace success at York was impressive given such tactics can be tough to pull off on the sprint course at that track. Such a manoeuvre is more commonly seen at Ascot, though, so the course and big field should play to his strengths.
The York form is already working out well, as Mr Wagyu and Mister Bluebird showcased at the weekend, so Asjad is firmly on the radar for the final day’s handicap highlight.
BLACKBEARD
Aidan O’Brien’s juveniles have been flying this season and few have made an impression like unbeaten three-time winner BLACKBEARD who has multiple options at Royal Ascot.
He could well drop back to five for the Norfolk Stakes but the chances are he’ll go for the Coventry over six after proving himself over that distance in style at the Curragh last time out.
His three and a half length victory over Tough Talk, a winner of a Curragh maiden, with stablemate Deneuve, a Naas maiden winner, well beaten back in fifth, marks the Marble Hill out as strong form and it’s a race O’Brien has used as a launchpad to Coventry success before (Power in 2011 and Caravaggio in 2016).
Blackbeard’s sire No Nay Never hasn’t had the same Royal Ascot impact that his own sire, Scat Daddy, had at the meeting, but he has been responsible for a couple of winners in Arizona and Alcohol Free and this colt could well be another given his class and relative experience.
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BOLT ACTION
The other two-year-old to make the list is Roger Varian’s BOLT ACTION who made a striking impression at Leicester on debut on May 31.
James Tate’s New Definition was the odds-on favourite that day having already had a promising run in second at Doncaster, but he couldn’t put that experience to good use as Bolt Action breezed by him to win by four lengths.
By Mill Reef winner Kessaar, who retired at two, early speed looks this horse’s game and Varian has made a good start with juveniles from that stallion after Tajalla won impressively at Newmarket’s Craven meeting.
That horse is unfortunately out of Royal Ascot due to a setback, but Varian is looking forward to running Bolt Action, who could go in either the Windsor Castle or the Norfolk, with preference for the former.
CALLING THE WIND
You can’t beat a good solid block of Ascot form when it comes to the handicaps and Richard Hughes’ CALLING THE WIND brings exactly that to the table.
He’s won a 1m6f handicap at the track off 86, has been second and third in two subsequent handicaps off 93 and then he was second in last year’s Queen Alexandra Stakes behind Stratum.
A winner at Glorious Goodwood after that, he progressed into a mark in the 100s but he still looks capable granted the right conditions and he caught the eye when repeatedly short of room in Sussex behind Third Realm last time out.
I like Authorized progeny over staying distances at Ascot – over 1m5f on the Flat they are six from 29 at 21% - and Calling The Wind will have several options next week, including the Copper Horse handicap over 1m6f on the opening day.
EHRAZ
The Commonwealth Cup has been a fantastic addition to the calendar for mine and it’s a great punting race as you get to try and identify the best sprinter amongst the Classic crop before they’ve had the stage to announce themselves.
I’m hoping that stage is set for EHRAZ next Friday, as his career so far has been a mixed bag of potential and disappointment – with the former outweighing the latter, on balance.
An Acomb Stakes flop signalled the end of his juvenile campaign and he then cut out after travelling best in the Pavilion behind Go Bears Go, on his 3yo reappearance, but he reminded everyone of his talents at Newbury last time.
Jim Crowley switched him off in the rear and employed severe hold-up tactics for the first time, allowing him to come home with a devastating burst on the stands’ rail in the Carnarvon Stakes where he lost out in a photo to Tiber Flow.
That was better, much better, and Ascot’s straight course lends itself well to the patient approach, making me think that perhaps he might become the third Commonwealth Cup winner by Showcasing, after Quiet Reflection and Advertise, after all.
HIGHFIELD PRINCESS
I’ve had HIGHFIELD PRINCESS on my radar for the Platinum Jubilee ever since she ran a cracker to be sixth in the British Champions Sprint last October – the first time she had tried six furlongs in her life.
Even a spin over five furlongs at Wolverhampton, when second in a conditions race, didn’t convince me she had the speed for a flat track like York over six furlongs, however, but she must be getting sharper as she gets older as she was pure class in the (1895) Duke Of York Stakes at the Dante meeting.
That was surprisingly impressive, but perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised with another John Quinn project, as he just seems to keep on improving horses just when you think they’ve hit their ceiling.
The Night Of Thunder filly might well have some high-class international operators to contend with in the Platinum Jubilee, but she’s a Royal Ascot winner at the top of her game and the only surprising thing about her now is that she’s still available at 12/1.
POTAPOVA
I revisited the Epsom replays earlier and my word, wasn’t POTAPOVA’s run in second in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes an eye-catching one with a view to future targets?
It was just the fifth run on turf for the daughter of Invincible Spirit and in typical Sir Michael Stoute style she’s getting better with racing, this an undoubted career best and that despite adversity.
The blindfold was removed late, she missed the break, she raced in last and she had to show great class and courage just to chase home her owner-mate, the well-punted Bashkirova, in second.
I’m sure Group One targets will be on Stoute’s radar for this filly in a few months’ time, but the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes looks the perfect next step for her if she’s come out of Epsom bouncing.
SYMBOLIZE
A trio to bear in mind for the monster straight-course handicaps now starting with Andrew Balding’s SYMBOLIZE.
He has a superb record at Ascot having finished fourth in the Windsor Castle, third in the Jersey, seventh in last year’s Buckingham Palace (when second in his group) and second in both the Challenge Cup and Balmoral handicaps last October.
Clearly, he loves Ascot. And he goes well fresh, too. So it’s no wonder Balding ran him just the once back in April – when an encouraging second to Mutasaabeq at Thirsk, a horse who has acquitted himself well in Group company twice subsequently.
Symbolize has been waiting for Royal Ascot at home, and he still looks well capable of playing a leading role in either the Buckingham Palace Stakes or the Royal Hunt Cup from a perch of 104.
VAFORTINO
We’re talking a small sample here, but I like New Bay progeny at Ascot. He’s four from 12 at the track after winning with Jumby, Perotto, New Mandate and VAFORTINO and two of those wins came in the Britannia and the Victoria Cup - big-field straight-course handicaps.
The son of New Bay who could take the week by storm is Sir Michael Stoute’s Bay Bridge in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes, but VAFORTINO has to be on my shortlist for whatever race he goes for next week after that Victoria Cup success last month.
Yes, he was drawn on the favoured stands’ side, there’s no escaping that, but he did it very nicely to my eye, with only a former Group One winner in Accidental Agent getting close to him with a good bit of daylight showing back to the third.
The 5lb rise for that success was by no means harsh and with a straight course win up his sleeve he’ll be of interest next week, whether he stays at the seven-furlong distance in the Bucky Pally or goes up in trip to a mile in the Hunt Cup.
WHOPUTFIFTYINYOU
Finally, WHOPUTFIFTYINYOU - who will go into the Britannia Stakes in great form. I knew it, I simply couldn’t complete a Royal Ascot on the radar feature without mentioning a Clive Cox-trained horse.
There is lots to like about this son of Twilight Son, though. Not least an unbeaten career record of four from four, a fine attitude and an ability to get the job done in a tight finish.
Last time he beat the highly-touted Mighty Ulysses in the always red-hot Cazoo Silver Bowl Handicap at Haydock, where he came from last to first to win going away in the style of a very good horse. Again, those tactics should serve him well in the Britannia.
Rated 98, Whoputfiftyinyou could easily be a pattern-class performer in the making, making a race like the Britannia the ideal stepping stone for a horse with his profile.
