Two-Year-Old Guide author Dan Briden fancies one of Royal Ascot's most successful jockeys to have his first as a trainer in the Windsor Castle Stakes.
The final edition of the Windsor Castle Stakes as we know it - due off at 6.10 on Wednesday - looks a typically open affair.
Paddy Twomey’s Rogue Legend heads the market at the time of writing. Having failed to justified odds-on favouritism on debut, he went one better on his next two outings at Cork and Tipperary within seven days of each other, scoring with plenty in hand both times. He already has shown a high level of form, enough perhaps to have contested higher company than this, while he looks a fair way off hitting the ceiling of his abilities. A very interesting contender.
OId Is Gold shaped with promise on his debut here before confirming it fully with victory in a conditions event at Beverley. Although runner-up Naval Light may prove to be the best prospect in the field, Old Is Gold impressed with how he travelled throughout, looking ready for this better company. One of a number purchased by Wathnan Racing in recent weeks.
Havana Hurricane and Jan Steen are debut winners who met with defeat on their second outing, but neither lost much caste in doing so, especially Havana Hurricane in chasing home Maximised in the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom. The manner in which he travelled was eyecatching, finding a sixth furlong that day stretching him if anything. A strongly-run five furlongs will be right up his street.
David O’Meara’s Rogue Supremacy is the biggest unknown quantity in the field. A £160,000 purchase from the Goffs UK Breeze Up sales, he was sent off 8/13 market leader for a 5.5f maiden at Wetherby a couple of weeks ago and fully justified the market confidence. Soon to the fore and tanking along throughout, he was still on the bridle entering the final furlong and merely had to be nudged out to account for Vlad by 2¼ lengths.
For all it was hardly a deep contest, the runner-up had shaped well when chasing home the promising Treanmor in a Newmarket event on debut. The issue for Rogue Supremacy could be the vastly more competitive environment he will face here; breezing for a second time in essence at Wetherby rather than learning a great deal. We ought to learn here whether it was a case of professionalism or raw ability that saw him through last time.
