We caught up with Kieran Betteley of the Sky Bet trading team to get his Royal Ascot fancies and to find out who has been popular in the betting.
Who is your banker of the meeting?
Carla’s Way (Albany) made a seriously deep impression when making a winning debut at Doncaster a couple of weeks ago and looks a high-class filly in the making. She did plenty wrong that day, racing very keenly, but still managed to finish off the race strongly which suggests she could be a bit special for the Simon & Ed Crisford team.
Which two-year-olds are you keen on?
Alongside Carla’s Way, I liked the way Emperor’s Son (Coventry) stuck to his task at Carlisle on debut to get the better of a highly regarded colt who had the benefit of experience. Despite suffering interference at the start, he settled nicely and looked professional enough on debut to suggest he’ll be capable of making his presence felt in Group company to continue the good start to the season for Richard Fahey.
Who is your biggest fancy in the handicaps?
It’s easy to see why Orazio has found himself at the top of the betting for the Wokingham on Saturday. Charlie Hills has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season operating at over a 20% strike rate. Orazio’s returned from an absence that saw him miss his three-year-old campaign looking like a horse who could eventually find himself in Group races, and a mark of 102 doesn’t appear to be his ceiling.
Which short-price favourite do you think looks vulnerable?
Despite finishing a brilliant second in the Derby, I wouldn’t be totally convinced by King Of Steel (King Edward VII Stakes). That was a massive step up on previous form and Epsom would be a very different type of test to Ascot. I’d need to see him back up that effort before putting him up there with this year's top three-year-olds.
Who could you see going well at a big price in a Group race?
Not necessarily a huge price, but Courage Mon Ami (Gold Cup) seems to be heading to Ascot a little under the radar. He remains unbeaten having built on a couple of promising efforts in novice company when making a winning handicap debut off a mark of 98 at Goodwood at the end of May. He’s clearly a stayer in the making, so I’ve been impressed with the way he’s gone about his business over shorter trips and am very excited to see him tackle these marathon trips on the Flat. He should be bang there at an each-way price.
Have any of Frankie Dettori's likely mounts proved popular in the ante-post betting?
Frankie Fever is well and truly alive amongst our customer base, and most horses he’s confirmed to ride have been popular in our books. Kinross (Platinum Jubilee) has been ultra-consistent over the past couple of seasons, and has been backed in from double-figure prices to 8/1 and will certainly be one we want beat.
Which horse is the firm's biggest ante-post liability?
The well touted Asadna is a significant loser in our book having been as big as 16/1 for the Coventry Stakes following his debut success at Ripon. It didn’t take long for plenty of respected judges to get involved at double-figure prices, and he’s now 7/2 second favourite for the Boughey team. He’d be a bad start to the week.
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