15:05 Royal Ascot

Friday 18 June 2021

All14:3015:0515:4016:2017:0017:3518:10

King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2)

Off time: 15:05 | Winning time: 2m 41.31s

(1)

Gear Up¹³

Age: 3| Weight: 9-3| J: James Doyle| T: C & M Johnston| OR: 111

9/1

Winner of 3 of his 4 starts at 2 yrs, notably the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud final outing. Encouraging return in the Dante but ran well below form when beating only one home in the Derby.

Form: 1141-50

(3)

Alenquer⁵⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 9-0| J: Tom Marquand| T: W J Haggas| OR: 108

13/8

Progressive colt who looked well suited by the step up to 10f when beating subsequent Derby winner Adayar in Group 3 Classic Trial at Sandown on return. Looks the one to beat with improvement to come.

Form: 12-1

(2)

Belloccio³⁶

Age: 3| Weight: 9-0| J: S De Sousa| T: D Menuisier| OR: 100

5/1

Belardo colt who won both starts at 2 yrs, including 1m listed race at Toulouse. Respectable fifth in the Classic Trial at Sandown on return but has 8½ lengths to make up on Alenquer. More needed.

Form: 11-58

(8)

Tasman Bay³⁴

Age: 3| Weight: 9-0| J: David Probert| T: Sir M Todd| OR: 102

10/1

€220,000 purchase who made his second start a winning one at Newcastle in March and posted a borderline smart effort when runner-up in a listed race at Newmarket last month. Each-way claims.

Form: 6-132

(7)

The Mediterranean¹⁵

Age: 3| Weight: 9-0| J: R L Moore| T: A P O'Brien| OR: 105| BF| D

9/2

Much improved from debut when landing 18-runner maiden at Leopardstown last month and bettered that form when a close second in listed contest 15 days ago. Open to further progress so he's respected.

Form: 7-12

(4)

Title²¹

Age: 3| Weight: 9-0| J: David Egan| T: R Varian| OR: 92| BF

5/1

Left previous efforts behind when winning 10-runner maiden at Yarmouth (11.5f) 3 weeks ago, encouragingly knuckling down well when asked. Big step up in grade but worth his place in this line-up.

Form: 2-21

Non-Runners

(5)

Gloucestershire¹⁸⁶

Weight: 9-0| Age: 3

T: M Meade J: Oisin Murphy

(6)

Yibir²⁸

Weight: 9-0| Age: 3

T: C Appleby J: W Buick

Forecasts

Alenquer (13/8), The Mediterranean (9/2), Title (5/1), Belloccio (5/1), Yibir (6/1), Gear Up (9/1), Tasman Bay (10/1), Gloucestershire (16/1)

ALENQUER's Classic Trial victory at Sandown received the ultimate form boost when runner-up Adayar bolted up in the Derby just under a fortnight ago. With further improvement on the cards, he's a confident selection to score again upped further in trip. The Mediterranean still looked a little rough around the edges when second in a listed event last time but he's feared most, ahead of Yibir.