Free racing tips: Ben Linfoot's Value Bet preview and selection for the final day of Royal Ascot 2020
Ben Linfoot has two big-priced each-way selections as he looks to shed some light on horses the bookmakers have underestimated at Royal Ascot.
Recommended Bets - Royal Ascot 2020, Day Five
1pt e.w. Breathtaking Look in 3.35 Ascot at 33/1
1pt e.w. Tinto in 4.10 Ascot at 12/1
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If there’s a new sprinting superstar in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on the final day of Royal Ascot, it’s probably Sceptical, the £2,800 Godolphin cast-off who has rocketed himself to favouritism for this Group One following three wins this year after only breaking his maiden in November.
It’s a rags to riches story with trainer Denis Hogan at the heart of it, while the horse himself showed it wasn’t only Dundalk where he can dazzle as he blasted his way to Listed success at Naas on June 8 in typical style, on what was his turf debut.
Apprentice jockey Joey Sheridan has ridden him on his last two starts but the 7lb claimer is not allowed to ride in Britain at the moment due to rules surrounding racing’s resumption in the UK amid the coronavirus pandemic, so Frankie Dettori takes the ride.
Given the style of his victories in Ireland it’s no wonder he’s favourite here, but the one nagging doubt is the ground after Thursday’s rain, as even if it has dried out a little by Saturday it will still be the easiest ground he’s ever run on.
Hello Youmzain, One Master and The Tin Man are three who won’t mind conditions, but other than Sceptical there are only Speak In Colours and BREATHTAKING LOOK that have had a run this season and the latter looks worth an each-way bet at 33/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3).
Her match fitness could be crucial here in a race that looks set to be run at a good tempo with plenty of prominent racers in there, and I like that she’s got a highly-promising reappearance run under her belt.
She stays further, too, I think she’ll be absolutely fine on the ground and I don’t think she’s got as much to find as both the official ratings and odds suggest.
Hugely unexposed over six furlongs, her career form figures at the distance are 1-1-2 and that second came behind Oxted in the Group Three Abernant Stakes at Newmarket two weeks ago.
She was a bit keen that day and then got a little outpaced, but I loved how she finished her race to ensure second ahead of much higher-rated rivals.
The stiffer six at Ascot on slower conditions looks ideal and progeny of Bated Breath are amassing a pretty good record on the Ascot straight course, highlighted by the 2019 meeting wins for Daahyeh, Space Traveller and Biometric and enhanced this week by Salayel who ran second in the Silver Hunt Cup.
Trainer Stuart Williams’ horses are in good form and he’s booked Andrea Atzeni for the ride, a jockey who has ridden 24 winners for him at 16 per cent.
Breathtaking Look can give him a good spin in the day’s feature at rewarding odds and she’s worth getting onside.
The day’s big handicap is the Wokingham and I’m going to go with the fit and firing angle in this race, too, and suggest backing Amanda Perrett’s TINTO at 16/1 (General 1/4 1,2,3,4).
There looks to be pace all over the track in this so Tinto should get a nice lead into proceedings under talented 5lb claimer Marco Ghiani, breaking from stall 11, and he has the horse to make a bold challenge.
At three he thrived on his racing and ran 16 times, improving from 77 to 101 and amassing three victories and plenty of placed efforts along the way.
One of his wins came at Ascot where he beat Aplomb in soft ground off 96 in October, with Ghiani claiming 7lb that day – his second victory from two starts on the horse.
For all he achieved at three, though, Tinto looked an improved horse again on his seasonal reappearance at Newmarket on June 5, as he travelled supremely well throughout before displaying a sharp turn of foot to put the race to bed under Jim Crowley, belying his odds of 40/1.
His 5lb rise for that win to 105 was fair and Ghiani’s claim helps in that regard. He’ll have to be better again to defy a career-high mark, but his fitness edge over many of these can help and at a track he likes on conditions that are fine he can run a big race.
Posted at 1700 BST on 19/06/20
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