13:15 Royal Ascot

Friday 19 June 2020

All13:1513:5014:2515:0015:3516:1016:40

Palace Of Holyroodhouse Handicap

Off time: 13:18 | Winning time: 1m 0.57s

(2)

Band Practice²³¹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-7| J: D Tudhope| T: A Watson| OR: 104| D

50/1

Improved sharply towards the end of her juvenile season, supplementing a minor win at Chepstow (5f, good) with conditions & Listed victories at Musselburgh (5f, gd/firm) and Chantilly (5f, soft) respectively; tough test on return off top-weight.

Form: 291110-

(14)

Spartan Fighter²²⁰

Age: 3| Weight: 9-1| J: K Shoemark| T: D Carroll| OR: 98| D

50/1

Sharp as a juvenile, winning two of his first three starts on varying racing surfaces (at Ripon and York); came up slightly short in Listed and Group 2 company, including in the Gimcrack Stakes thereafter; first start for 220-days.

Form: 411867-

(10)

Golden Dragon²⁵²

Age: 3| Weight: 9-1| J: James Doyle| T: S C Williams| OR: 98| D

22/1

Twice successful at Windsor (5f-6f, gd/firm) before rounding off his juvenile campaign with a creditable fifth to Good Vibes in the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes at Newmarket (5f, gd/sft); thought likely to race close to the early pace; chance.

Form: 6115-

(16)

Show Me Show Me¹⁵

Age: 3| Weight: 9-1| J: P Mathers| T: R A Fahey| OR: 98| D

66/1

Caught on the line in last season's valuable Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes at Newbury (5f, gd/soft), before a fast-finishing third in the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood (5f, good); much less productive in three subsequent starts.

Form: 22300-9

(9)

Maystar⁹⁸

Age: 3| Weight: 9-0| J: Hollie Doyle| T: A Watson| OR: 97| D

12/1

Won three races as a juvenile, including twice on the AW (5f-6f), before a successful foray abroad (Doha 7f, good); was headed close home in an AW FTQ on the Polytrack at Chantilly (6½f) in March; one of four declared runners for Archie Watson.

Form: 1261-72

(19)

Art Power¹⁸

Age: 3| Weight: 9-0| J: S De Sousa| T: T D Easterby| OR: 97| D

6/4

Ready winner at York (5f, soft) on his second career start; returned from his winter break with an explosive display of power and pace (made all) on the AW at Newcastle (6f); progressive, and figures highest on the shortlist as a result.

Form: 31-1

(17)

Classy Moon³³⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-0| J: C Lee| T: K R Burke| OR: 97| D

25/1

Justified favouritism on debut at Carlisle (5f maiden, good to soft) last June and very highly tried thereafter (Group 2 contests at Newmarket and Deauville); trainer Karl Burke is triply-represented; requires a career best off a 334-day absence.

Form: 166-

(21)

Keep Busy⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 8-13| J: Cieren Fallon⁽³⁾| T: J & S Quinn| OR: 96| D

6/1

Appropriately named filly; ploughed through the mud to win a Listed contest at Chantilly (5½f, heavy) last back-end; finished runner-up (beaten 3½L) to the easy winner Lazuli in the Listed Scurry Stakes at Sandown last Saturday.

Form: 2541-72

(3)

Rayong²⁸¹

Age: 3| Weight: 8-12| J: B A Curtis| T: K R Burke| OR: 95| D

18/1

Sole win (1-6) came on debut at Carlisle (5f, good to firm); has twice made the frame since, including when left toiling by Mums Tipple in the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes at York (6f, good); stablemate of Classy Moon and George Cornelius.

Form: 103720-

(15)

George Cornelius^h1⁸

Age: 3| Weight: 8-11| J: R Kingscote| T: K R Burke| OR: 94| BF| D

150/1

Easy 10L maiden winner on debut (Dundalk, 5f), but absent for much of the remainder of his juvenile season before moving on from Kieran Cotter; far too keen (weakened late on) when a beaten odds-on favourite at Beverley (5f) last week; hood goes on.

Form: 14-5

(20)

Lambeth Walk²⁵⁸

Age: 3| Weight: 8-10| J: Oisin Murphy| T: A Watson| OR: 93| D

33/1

Set some stiff tasks after a couple of early season juvenile wins at Windsor and Chelmsford (5f); runner-up in the Listed Champion Two-Year-Old-Trophy at Ripon (6f, good) last August; Archie Watson has better chances of a winner elsewhere.

Form: 104267-

(8)

Flippa The Strippa²⁵²

Age: 3| Weight: 8-10| J: Andrea Atzeni| T: C Hills| OR: 93| D

50/1

Sprung a 16-1 surprise in the Listed National Stakes at Sandown (5f, good to firm) early last season; couldn't kick on positively thereafter ending her juvenile season down the field (ninth) in the Group 3 Cornwallis Stakes at Newmarket.

Form: 118399-

(5)

Dylan De Vega²⁵⁸

Age: 3| Weight: 8-9| J: T Hamilton| T: R A Fahey| OR: 92| D

80/1

Beverley scorer (5f, good); finished second on each of his first two attempts in handicaps, most notably at Glorious Goodwood (6f, gd/fm); on balance, the handicapper looks to be firmly in charge unless the gelding operation generates improvement.

Form: 022060-

(18)

Illusionist²⁸⁸

Age: 3| Weight: 8-9| J: S H James| T: Grant Tuer| OR: 92| D

150/1

With Archie Watson when finishing a close fifth to Southern Hills in last year's Windsor Castle Stakes (5f, soft); lost his way towards the end of the season and moved on for 13,000gns; an outsider on debut for the Northallerton handler Grant Tuer.

Form: 221574-

(22)

Mighty Spirit²³⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 8-7| J: Megan Nicholls⁽³⁾| T: R A Fahey| OR: 90| D

14/1

Consistent juvenile; made the frame behind Show Me Show Me in the Weatherbys Super Sprint Stakes at Newbury (5f); deservedly broke her duck on her final juvenile start (Catterick); also has previous form with Flippa The Strippa and Band Practice.

Form: 232521-

(12)

Electric Ladyland^p⁵^{(ex 5)}

Age: 3| Weight: 8-7| J: Pierre-Louis Jamin⁽⁵⁾| T: A Watson| OR: 85| D

33/1

Pacy (won three-times as a juvenile); made little impact in a cross channel jaunt to Chantilly (6½f) in March; that said, she demonstrated her current well-being with a gritty win at Goodwood (5f, good) on Sunday, for which she carries 6lb extra.

Form: 21-3301

(1)

Never Dark¹⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 8-0| J: Hayley Turner| T: A M Balding| OR: 82| D

14/1

Yet to race on turf (1-5 on AW); close third to Aweemaweh & Meraas (form franked) in a Wolverhampton maiden on his penultimate start before striking in a Class 5 handicap at Kempton (5f) 16 days ago; is facing a sterner test from an 8lb higher mark.

Form: 3-2231

(4)

Sir Oliver^b¹¹

Age: 3| Weight: 8-0| J: Cam Hardie| T: R Hughes| OR: 82| D

150/1

Raced keenly throughout, yet was finally off the mark with a 4¾L win in a Kempton novice in February; fairly low-key (slowly away) on recent return from lock-down in a Class 4 handicap at Haydock (5f, gd/sft); up against it here.

Form: 8393-16

(7)

Triple Spear¹¹^{(ex 5)}

Age: 3| Weight: 8-0| J: Jane Elliott| T: M Appleby| OR: 77| D

33/1

Can boast more experience than the vast majority (3-10 career); successful for the first time on turf at Haydock (5f, gd/sft) 11 days ago - Sir Oliver comfortably held; must continue to progress in order to defy a 6lb penalty in a stronger contest.

Form: 31-7141

(13)

City Walk¹⁷

Age: 3| Weight: 8-0| J: J Fanning| T: S bin Suroor| OR: 81

12/1

Very lightly-raced Brazen Beau colt (£70,000 yearling); was returning from a near 14-month absence when finishing a weakening fourth to Meraas (beaten 8L) in a 6f Kempton maiden earlier this month; high enough mark (81) for handicap debut?

Form: 3-4

(11)

Dancin Inthestreet¹¹

Age: 3| Weight: 8-0| J: J F Egan| T: W J Haggas| OR: 78

9/1

Lingfield novice winner (6f); has shown a consistent level of form throughout her brief racing career; much better off at the weights today with Maystar compared to their clash at Wolverhampton in December 2019; was placed at Haydock 11 days ago.

Form: 215-3

Non-Runners

(6)

Will To Win¹⁰⁷

Weight: 9-0| Age: 3

T: S & E Crisford J: W Buick

Forecasts

Art Power (6/4), Keep Busy (6/1), Will To Win (7/1), Dancin Inthestreet (9/1), Maystar (12/1), City Walk (12/1), Mighty Spirit (14/1), Never Dark (14/1), Rayong (18/1), Golden Dragon (22/1), Classy Moon (25/1), Lambeth Walk (33/1), Triple Spear (33/1), Electric Ladyland (33/1), Band Practice (50/1), Flippa The Strippa (50/1), Spartan Fighter (50/1), Show Me Show Me (66/1), Dylan De Vega (80/1), Illusionist (150/1), Sir Oliver (150/1), George Cornelius (150/1)

The Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap is a new race on the Royal Ascot roll call. With some trainers holding multiple entries, namely Archie Watson (4), Karl Burke (3) and Richard Fahey (3), Friday's opener arguably isn't as strong in-depth as a traditional 22-runner Ascot handicap, yet a fast and furious 5f dash is guaranteed with Will To Win, George Cornelius, Sir Oliver and Electric Ladyland all possessing pace to burn. Therefore, the most exciting handicap debutant ART POWER won't have things all his own way (as was the case at Newcastle) but such was his explosive display of raw pace and power on that occasion he rates as virtually impossible to oppose.