Palace Pier gets a pat from Frankie for winning the Lockinge
Palace Pier is one of Timeform's Royal Ascot bankers

Royal Ascot tips: Timeform have their say on the bankers of the week


Adam Houghton profiles five horses who are well clear on Timeform ratings and look banker material for their respective races at Royal Ascot.


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Palace Pier – Queen Anne Stakes, Tuesday (14:30)

The older milers have been much of a muchness in recent years and you need to go back to Frankel for the last time we had a bona fide top-class winner of the Queen Anne. Of course, that tag almost does Frankel a disservice given that he produced the best performance in the Timeform era when successful in 2012, earning a rating of 147 as he passed the post with 11 lengths to spare over old rivals Excelebration, doing so at odds of 10/1-on.

Palace Pier won’t be so short in the betting for this year’s Queen Anne, but there is little doubt he is the best horse to have contested the race since Frankel, lining up as the winner of seven of his eight starts. He ended last season as Timeform’s highest-rated three-year-old in training following wins in the St James’s Palace Stakes at this meeting and Prix Jacques le Marois at Deavuille, and he has proved the defeat he suffered on his final start – in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes over this course and distance – to be just a blip with two decisive victories already on the board in 2021.

Palace Pier recorded the third Group 1 victory of his career in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury last time, quickening to lead entering the final two furlongs and just needing to be kept up to his work to land the spoils by a length and a half with plenty in hand. That was another performance right out of the top drawer and he simply looks far superior to anything else in this division. With a Timeform rating of 132, he is well clear of the next best in the Queen Anne, Order of Australia (121), and fully deserving of his banker status.

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Battaash – King’s Stand Stakes, Tuesday (15:40)

The miling division may have lacked a standout performer in recent years, but the same cannot be said of the five-furlong sprinters, a group which has been dominated by Battaash for four seasons in a row. In truth, even that statement doesn’t really do his lofty achievements justice, with a peak Timeform rating of 136 identifying Battaash as the highest-rated sprinter since the same owner’s Dayjur swept all before him in 1990.

Battaash has won just about every big five-furlong race there is to win in Europe and often more than once. He was successful on all three starts in 2020, finally landing the King’s Stand at the third attempt before taking his career tally to 13 with wins in the King George Stakes at Goodwood (for the fourth year in a row) and Nunthorpe Stakes at York (for the second year in a row). In pure form terms, Battaash wasn’t at his brilliant best last season, but he did gain consistency and seemed a more mature horse, proving much easier to keep a lid on both in the preliminaries and during his races.

Battaash met with a setback during the winter – he reportedly underwent surgery after suffering a small fracture to a joint – which is an obvious concern ahead of this year’s King’s Stand. However, he has an exemplary record when fresh, winning first-time-out in every season of his racing career, and even his revised Timeform rating of 128 leaves his rivals with plenty to find to come up to his level. He should once again take all the beating if retaining all that ability as a seven-year-old.

Battaash: The current king of the sprinters
Battaash: The current king of the sprinters


Lady Bowthorpe – Duke of Cambridge Stakes, Wednesday (15:40)

Palace Pier and Battaash were already well-established as two of the biggest names in the sport before this season, but it’s fair to say that Lady Bowthorpe has been one of the surprise packages, stepping up markedly on the form she showed last term for William Jarvis.

Even then Lady Bowthorpe had made giant strides, winning a Lingfield handicap from a BHA mark of 81 on her reappearance before making the breakthrough in pattern company in the Valiant Stakes at this course just seven weeks later. That was an impressive performance which suggested she might be capable of making an impact at a higher level, but those hopes were dented as she met with defeat on both subsequent starts that season, seemingly having her limitations exposed when sixth on her final outing in the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket.

Lady Bowthorpe has surpassed any so-called ‘limitations’ and then some in 2021, showing a good attitude to make a winning return in the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket and then taking her form up another notch when second, a length and a half behind Palace Pier, in the Lockinge. She was outclassed by the winner at Newbury but still emerged with plenty of credit, showing very smart form to pull more than five lengths clear of the rest.

This represents a drop in grade back against her own sex and, despite having a 3 lb penalty to carry for her Dahlia victory, she still comfortably sets the standard on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings. A likeable sort, she will be at home in these conditions and has been found a good opportunity to get her head back in front on the biggest stage of all.

"She's always looked quite nice at home" - Roger Varian Royal Ascot 2021 Stable Tour


Mohaafeth – Hampton Court Stakes, Thursday (15:05)

Mohaafeth was denied the opportunity to strut his stuff on another big stage at Epsom earlier this month, featuring amongst the favourites for the Derby when he was withdrawn at the eleventh hour due to concerns about the going. There is no doubt he is a colt of huge potential, though, and it will be exciting to see just what he can do when he lines up in Thursday’s Hampton Court.

Mohaafeth has already demonstrated a smart level of form, but there remains a suspicion that we’ve only scratched the surface of his ability, such was the ease of his success in a listed race at Newmarket in early-May. Held up in the early stages, he was produced to lead on the bridle over two furlongs out and quickly forged clear to land the spoils by five lengths. Admittedly, that performance was more about style than substance, but he is clearly held in high regard and was many people’s idea of the Derby winner before his late withdrawal.

The Hampton Court doesn’t represent quite so stern a test and, crucially, Mohaafeth is likely to get what trainer William Haggas believes to be his optimum conditions, namely a mile and a quarter on fast ground. The smart form he showed at Newmarket is already the best on offer, while it’s worth reiterating that he could prove capable of significantly better than we’ve seen so far. He is fancied to prove himself one of the best three-year-olds in training before stepping up in grade for a race such as the Eclipse.

"He looks absolutely fantastic, he's ready to go" - William Haggas Royal Ascot 2021 Stable Tour


Stradivarius – Gold Cup, Thursday (16:15)

Stradivarius made three starts over a mile and a half during 2020, including when seventh in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but he still found the time to underline his status as one of the very best stayers of the modern era. In fact, he produced the best performance of his remarkable career to date when winning the Gold Cup for the third year in succession, readily dismissing concerns about the soft going as he powered clear in the straight to win by 10 lengths.

That performance earned Stradivarius a Timeform rating of 130, marking him out as the best horse over staying trips for almost 40 years, and he wasn’t finished either as he won the Goodwood Cup for the fourth year in a row on his next start, becoming the first horse to achieve that feat. He had valid excuses when beaten on his three subsequent starts last season and he looked as enthusiastic as ever when making a successful reappearance in the Sagaro Stakes at this course in April, typically just doing enough to beat Ocean Wind by a length.

Now a seven-year-old, Stradivarius has already won 17 races during his career, but another victory in the Gold Cup would almost certainly mean more than any other, seeing him emulate Yeats as a four-time winner of the race. It’s hard to see who can stop him he turns up in anything like the same form he was in 12 months ago, 4 lb clear of Trueshan on weight-adjusted ratings and clearly well at home faced with the unique test that the Gold Cup provides.

Stradivarius pulls 10 lengths clear in the Gold Cup
Stradivarius pulls 10 lengths clear in the Gold Cup


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