Our punchy Podcast panel preview the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot and have some interesting outsiders to consider.
Ed Chamberlin - G1 sprint going overseas
I wouldn't be too strongly against Overpass, personally, and I think you've got to be drawn high this year just looking at the speed in the race. I'd be worried for Karl Burke's sprinter (Night Raider), I'd just be worried with him drawn low and it looks like all the rest of the pace is high. I was very keen on the French challenger Rayevka here, in a big sprint I'd probably put a line through all the Irish and a line through all the British as well!
That leaves you with the Aussie and the French horse at the top of the market and I think she's very, very interesting. To have an Aga Khan horse in a King Charles III is interesting. But she seems very weak in the market and that worries me a bit as I don't know why. But I think she could be very good and she'll have the pace she needs to aim at from a high draw.
Graham Cunningham - Rum and Affair in Quinella
Overpass is rapid, he comes out of the stalls like a bullet and he'll blaze for a long way. Very close to him in the stalls is Jackajaro and he's a blazer. Mission Central is another drawn high and this race developed middle-to-high last year.
American Affair I think is the same horse as last year which means he'll go well but I'm looking for one to run well at a massive price. I would have preferred a higher draw for Rumstar but he was only just behind Night Raider in the Palace House, he was slightly unlucky as he edged over to the middle when you needed to be far side. I reckon he can beat Night Raider this time. That doesn't mean he'll win this race but I think he'll run very well.
Six Aussie horses have won this so we have to respect Overpass. There's isn't an Australian around who thinks Asfoora - who won this race in 2024 and the Nunthorpe last year - is a better horse than Overpass, and he might go on the back-up Choisir-style on Saturday if all goes well on Tuesday.
David Johnson - Take Cover at the odds
I think there's one at a massive price and that's Cover Up. He's not necessarily what you'd call an Ascot specialist but he's got some really good runs at the track, he was a course and distance winner in a handicap last year in a handicap off a mark of 97. He's got up to a mark in the 100s on the back of that and he's actually improved since in Dubai.
He's won a Group 2 out there over five furlongs and I think you can forgive him running poorly in the Al Quoz - that was back at six furlongs where he missed the break a little bit. Five furlongs, a strong pace... he's one of those horses I think will run pretty well if he gets that little bit of luck that you need in a race like this. I was surprised to see he was such a big price.
Billy Nash - Mission improbable
There is one Irish runner in Mission Central and he'd have an each-way chance. He's won twice this year and won at the track last year which is a help. He's a three-year-old and they don't have a particularly good record in the race despite Bradsell and Lady Aurelia winning it at that age in recent years. I'm not sure he's quite at that level yet.
Like Ed, I do quite like Rayevka dropping back to five furlongs but I don't have a strong opinion on the race. It's not a race I wasn't planning on getting involved in until I heard some of the view already mentioned...!
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