Get the lowdown on the day's major handicap

Racing Tips: In-depth look at the big Royal Ascot handicaps

By Andrew Asquith

Horse Racing

Fri June 23, 2023 · 2y ago

Andrew Asquith will be our man looking to crack the big Ascot handicaps this week. The Sandringham Stakes is next up on Friday.

5.00 Sandringham Stakes

Check out all of the form and comments with our racecard

The Sandringham Stakes is the fillies equivalent of the Britannia and is also run over the same course and distance as both that race and the Royal Hunt Cup. The winner of the Britannia broke from stall 18, while the close runner-up broke from stall 3. There doesn't appear to be much of a draw bias on that evidence, with the trailing groups on terms with each other on each side.

How will the race be run?

Therefore, as you would expect, pace and the draw will have a big impact, and looking at the Timeform pace map, similarly to both of the previously named races, the majority of prominent or front runners have been handed high draws.

The contenders

The betting also reflects that with the first four in the market all draw 19 or higher, though as has often been the case this week, the current favourite, Coppice, is probably a few points shorter than she should be given the Frankie factor.

Therefore, she is easy enough to pass over, despite arriving with an unexposed, positive profile and being seemingly well birthed in stall 25. Looking further down the list it is another John & Thady Gosden-trained filly, Marksman Queen, who tops my shortlist.

Admittedly, she is yet to run on turf, but as mentioned previously, horses with form on an artificial surface are often seen to good effect on Ascot’s straight course, and she is potentially very well handicapped – she is top rated on Timeform weight-adjusted ratings and still has the small p attached to her rating, denoting she is open to further improvement.

Marksman Queen won her first two starts over a mile at Kempton and Southwell and the form hasn’t worked out badly at all. She lost her unbeaten record on handicap debut at Kempton last time, but that was still a career-best effort, and she wasn’t as well placed as the winner who was able to dictate the pace.

"She ticks a load of boxes" | Tips and best bets for day four of Royal Ascot 2023

Hollie Doyle takes over in the saddle now, which is no bad thing, given she has a 30% record when riding for this yard, which also jumps right up to 100% at Ascot, albeit just from one ride (Amtiyaz who won at the Royal meeting in 2021). Marksman Queen is as big as 18/1 at the time of writing which just looks too big, especially as she shapes like a horse who will be suited by a strongly-run race over a straight mile, and is drawn in the high numbers.

Towards the other end of the handicap, Jackie Oh also looks very interesting for Aidan O’Brien now making her handicap debut. She made a winning debut in heavy ground at Naas in March, beating her better-fancied stablemate who won next time, and she improved a chunk when runner-up to a promising filly in a listed event over a mile and a quarter next time.

Jackie Oh failed to progress further in the Irish 1000 Guineas last time, though she wasn’t beaten too far behind Tahiyra, who is a long odds-on favourite for the Coronation Stakes on Friday, while she finished even closer to stablemate Meditate.

Jackie Oh shaped like she found everything happening too fast on that occasion, but this will likely be run at a stronger pace, and you do need stamina to win a race like this over the straight mile at Ascot. An opening mark of 102 looks a little on the high side, but she is clearly a filly held in high regard – she has a host of Group 1 entries – and it would be folly to rule her out for powerful connections.

Johnny Murtagh saddled a wide-margin winner of the Sandringham two years ago and in the shape of Clounmacon he brings over another strong challenger. She ran behind some nice types in three starts last season, twice finishing runner-up, and she overcame trouble in-running to open her account on her return to action at Dundalk in April.

She was disappointing on her next start in Group 3 company, perhaps finding the class of race too much, and also not suited by more testing ground. Clounmacon bounced back to form on handicap debut at the Curragh last time, though, beaten only a neck in second by the reopposing Bellaphina. However, Clounmacon looked an unlucky loser on the day, more than likely to have won if she had been asked for her effort sooner, coming from further back than the winner but only just failing. She is 1 lb better off now and is a confident selection to reverse that form, while she also appeals as a filly who has even more to offer on just her second handicap start.

Conclusion & selection

A competitive renewal of the Sandringham, but at the prices, it is MARKSMAN QUEEN who looks the most attractive proposition. At her current price, it is worth taking the risk that she is just as effective on turf, as she appeals as being one of the best handicapped fillies in the field, and the set up of this race should also bring out the best in her. The two Irish raiders have to be respected, too, with preference for Clounmacon at the prices.

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.

Like what you've read?