18:15 Royal Ascot
Thursday 20 June 2024
All14:3015:0515:4516:2517:0517:4018:15
Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap)
- 3YO plus | Class 2 | 7f | Good to Firm | 26 Runners | Turf | Weighed In
- Off time: 18:16 | Winning time: 1m 25.16s
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Selected odds by:
AW/turf winner in France for Andre Fabre and posted some useful efforts in the Middle East for this trainer over the winter. Underwhelming British debut at Newmarket and mark demands more. Tried in cheekpieces.
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Good second of 17 in handicap at York (7.9f, good, 8/1) 35 days ago, clear of rest. Third in this last year and seems likely to give another good account.
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York novice winner at the Dante Festival last year but failed to live up to that early-season promise. Close third at Kempton on reappearance and should have learned from his first big-field experience in the Victoria Cup. Not one to write off.
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Bordering on smart at his best for Johnny Murtagh and got back on the up from out of the blue when seeing off Gorak in a 15-runner event at Newmarket a month ago. May have even more to offer.
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Bagged the International here and 6.5f handicap at the Doncaster St Leger meeting in 2023. Yet to hit top form this term but that means his mark has edged back down.
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Likeable type who looked at least as good as ever when landing Epsom race (for the second time) in late May. Might be vulnerable even after a small rise but should give his running.
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Likeable type who justified support when making all (for the second year running) at Chester last time. Much harder to pull off those tactics here, so looks vulnerable.
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Successful at listed level at Newcastle (6f) in November but hasn't been at his best in handful of starts in handicaps since the turn of the year. Cheekpieces go back on but he's hard to make a compelling case for.
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Upwardly-mobile son of Wootton Bassett who returned to action with a solid second at Newmarket (7f) and found a chunk of improvement when storming clear to land 6-runner handicap at Haydock (7.2f). Makes serious appeal for new owners with more improvement on the cards.
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Better than ever when winning Lincoln at Doncaster on heavy ground on reappearance. Didn't back that up on a quicker surface at Newmarket next time and looks vulnerable.
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Talented on his day and carries penalty for his career-best effort when scoring at Goodwood 11 days ago. Ridden positively and should face plenty of competition in this environment.
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Useful dual winner for the Gosden stable and ran well on his return from 8 months off when fourth of 13 to Percy's Lad at Chester (7.6f, good to firm, 40/1) 41 days ago. Still relatively low mileage, so no surprise if has even more to offer this term.
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Likeable sort who posted a career-best effort on back of 6 months off when landing 18-runner Newmarket handicap (6f) in April. Latest effort behind Rhoscolyn was sub-par though and there's no great indication that he's ahead of his mark.
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Dual winner in the first half of last season and has returned in good order, only denied by Carrytheone at Newmarket last time. On better terms with that rival now and merits consideration.
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Had a solid 3-y-o season and took it up another notch with a 7f Chester win in May. Followed that with a good third to Carrytheone at Newmarket and he probably hasn't finished improving. Makes a fair bit of appeal.
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Well treated on his best form and recent efforts have contained more encouragement than the bare result indicate, not at home on the track at Epsom last time. Could be a player in first-time tongue tie if he's drawn on the right side.
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Dual AW winner who arrives in good order, finishing third to Rhoscolyn at Epsom last time. Likely to find a few of these rivals too well treated, though.
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Back-to-back winner on the AW in February and has remained in good heart since, hitting the line strong when fourth at Haydock recently. Has course form and may have more to offer for this shrewd stable. Not discounted.
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Down to his lowest mark for nearly 6 years and he was nearest at the finish when seventh at Newmarket last time. This sort of race suits him (narrowly denied in the 2020 Wokingham) and he could outrun his odds.
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Landed a couple of big pots over C&D in 2022. Performed with credit in a number of valuable events last year and this season's efforts have left the impression that he's building up to something. Could get involved if everything drops right.
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Successful at Thirsk and Sandown last season. Form has been in-and-out so far this term, however, and there are better cases to be made for others.
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Fifth of 11 in minor event (32/10) at Compiegne (7f, heavy) 20 days ago. Makes handicap debut. BHA assessor doesn't appear to have taken any chances but he is something of an unknown quantity and Marquand is booked.
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Lightly raced for his age and returned a much-improved model when landing 15-runner event at Cork with something to spare 41 days ago. More required but can't be ruled out.
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Useful operator nowadays who found good run of form coming to a halt when down the field at Newcastle 83 days ago. Others are less exposed and more persuasive.
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Returned to his best when landing an 11-runner 7f handicap at Newbury a week ago. This is clearly a much tougher ask under a penalty but this track/sort of race is suitable for his style.
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Made it 2-2 on the AW when scoring with plenty to spare on return/first run since being gelded at Southwell (7f) in April. Hasn't really been seen to best effect since and the return to this trip should help, but it's a big ask.
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Non-Runners
3
(22)
Awaal243
Weight: 9-11| Age: 5
T: S & E Crisford J: Non Runner
NR
8
(12)
Ropey Guest1
Weight: 9-9| Age: 7
T: G G Margarson J: T P Queally
NR
15
(24)
Bopedro20
Weight: 9-5| Age: 8
T: D O'Meara J: Jason Watson
WD
Forecasts
English Oak (10/3), Divine Libra (13/2), Koy Koy (9/1), Fresh (11/1), Northern Express (12/1), Make Me King (12/1), Kings Time (12/1), Awaal (12/1), Mostabshir (16/1), Bopedro (16/1), Ropey Guest (16/1), The X O (20/1), Gorak (22/1), Carrytheone (25/1), Percy's Lad (25/1), Sous La Neige (25/1), Billyjoh (28/1), Alzahir (28/1), Rhoscolyn (33/1), Summerghand (33/1), Dark Thirty (33/1), Sterling Knight (40/1), Tacarib Bay (40/1), Finn's Charm (40/1), Mustajaab (50/1), Baradar (50/1), Mr Professor (80/1), Maywake (100/1), Greatgadian (125/1)
ENGLISH OAK is another one to be added to Wathnan Racing's burgeoning roster after a most impressive display at Haydock and he's comfortably the most progressive sort in this field, so he's preferred to Divine Libra, who is also going the right way. Awaal has an excellent record fresh and should have been primed for a big run.
Previous Winners
Prize Money
1st: £56,694.002nd: £26,587.003rd: £13,299.004th: £6,644.005th: £3,322.006th: £1,661.00
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