DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
TUESDAY JUNE 16
2.30 ROYAL ASCOT
As ever, a cracking start to the meeting with this traditional straight mile contest the first of three stellar Group 1’s on the card and Godolphin look to have a strong hand on paper with Notable Speech and Opera Ballo the front two in the market.
The former arrives here with arguably the best recent form of the pair having captured the key trial for the Queen Anne at Newbury last time out and it will just be a question of whether Charlie Appleby’s gelding will be as effective over today’s stiffer course where the emphasis is more on stamina than raw pace.
Fourth in this race last year and previously well beaten on his only other outing at the Berkshire venue, the evidence, however, is he might not necessary be a shoo-in to confirm Lockinge form with MORE THUNDER, and Willian Haggas’ inmate is one of two who could easily prove good enough to throw a spanner in the works for the boys in blue.
The son of Night Of Thunder ran a race full on promise on his first start of the campaign following a 223-day break and it is not beyond the realms of possibility he could turn around the form over a track likely to play more into his strengths.
The way he worked his way through the ranks last season from top class handicapper to finish a creditable and slightly unlucky fourth in a Group 1 suggested he belongs on the big stage and unlike some of his main market rivals, he has solid Royal Ascot form.
Of the rest, it would be churlish to play down the claims of DOCKLANDS retaining his crown and he is worth an interest to see whether he can buck the trend of previous winners of this race not repeating the dose.
Your archetypal Ascot horse, with form figures at the Berkshire venue that read 11322214, the son of Massaat arrives here following a tremendous effort in a top-quality Group 1 against some of the world’s best milers at Sha Tin and that effort strongly suggests he is better than ever.
A horse that often misses a beat as the gates crash open, the fact he is easy to switch off and be allowed to come with a long, sustained run for home after halfway always helps his cause and it is hard to imagine a world in which he doesn’t go well again.
MORE THUNDER – 1-point win@4-1
DOCKLANDS – 1-point win@7-1
3.05 ROYAL ASCOT
A fascinating renewal of arguably the best two-year-old race of the meeting and given its roll of honour, it comes as no surprise to find Confucius heading the market for a trainer who has landed the prize with the likes of Carrvaggio, Arizona, River Tiber and Gstaad in recent times.
Whether this son of No Nay Never ends up being in the same category as those big names remains to be seen and there is plenty of weight behind the notion, he looks a bit short in the betting for what he has achieved so far to date.
Of his main challengers, ROYAL HERITAGE has come parachuting in from left field courtesy of his wildly impressive debut victory at Hamilton last week and with connections seemingly happy to roll the dice despite previously expressing reservations about the quick turnaround, he rates a must for the shortlist.
What looked a straightforward, no-nonsense success to the eye at the Scottish track, the clock suggested it was anything but and considering he produced such a figure without being subjected to a hard ride pointed towards a colt of serious potential.
Whether he proves streetwise enough to cope with all the razzmatazz of Royal Ascot with no previous experience of going to be a big meeting is a moot point but he hails from a set-up clearly intent on making waves to try and muscle their way into the top table and he is simply far too good a horse to leave on the sidelines.
Although SIOUXPERB doesn’t come out as well on the overall time figures at andyholdingspeedfigures.co.uk, Archie Watson’s inmate does score highly on several other fronts to warrant an interest at his morning odds.
In knowing his job and showing a bright turn of foot when scoring on debut at Yarmouth back in April, he ran the last three furlongs in a rapid 32.8 and his stride length of 8.64 metres, which is the longest of today’s field by some margin (Mrair next best with 8.25), suggests he can really open up once in full cry.
To all intents and purposes, therefore, today’s stiff, galloping track should suit and hailing from a stable who landed this race with Bradsell in 2022, he comes across as having a similar amount of ability.
Of the rest, Mrair is steadily learning the ropes, and he could easily be the surprise package from a stable only intent of bringing horses here with a genuine chance of going well.
ROYAL HERITAGE – 1-point each-way@17-2 (four places)
SIOUXPERB – ½ point each-way@14-1 (four places)
3.40 ROYAL ASCOT
Something things in life are just best kept simple and in the case of this Group 1 sprint, AMERICAN AFFAIR looks the most logical ball-on-to-the-bat selection in the field.
Winner of this race last season, we didn’t see Jim Goldie’s inmate out again until he made a belated reappearance at York a month ago, where the combination of six furlongs and needing the run prevented him from running his best.
Back to his optimum trip at Haydock last time out, the five-year-old still looked fresh and well despite his previous outing under his belt and, as a result, he tanked his way into the lead approaching the final furlong.
Unfortunately, those early exertions caught up with him late on and in the end, he was hanging on for dear life to maintain a respectable second place behind Night Raider.
Clearly better than the bare result suggests at the Merseyside venue, the son of Washington DC should get the ideal opportunity to take a lead for longer courtesy of being drawn next to the likes of Overpass and Jakajaro up the stands side rail and he makes plenty of each-way appeal to fill one of the five places most bookmakers are offering at the very least.
AMERICAN AFFAIR – 1-point each-way@15-2 (five places)
5.00 ROYAL ASCOT
The St James’ Palace Stakes and last two races fall into either the too tough to call or impossible to work out/difficult to see any value categories, but the big staying handicap is always well worth a shy at the stumps and the two recommended against the field are TIM TOE and BAHADAR.
Reaching High was always going to be a popular choice following on from last year’s unlucky run in this race last year, but Henry De Bromhead ended up being the beneficiary with Ascending and his representative has many similar qualities.
Like his stable mate, the five-year-old has form in the National Hunt sphere and he also arrives here following a recent spin on the flat, a successful one at Listowel.
Seemingly having his third run for a handicap mark, quite how he managed to score over a mile at the Kerry venue is a bit of a mystery but win he did and the turn of foot he showed in doing so was one of horse of some talent.
Of course, he must prove himself over a much longer trip and he lacks experience, but his trainer is no fool and he wouldn’t ask him to face such a task if he didn’t think he had the capabilities to do so.
The latter is proven over two miles at least and his victory at Goodwood recently carries plenty of substances.
In what turned out to be a fair test at the trip, the four-year-old stayed on strongly in the latter stages to score with a degree of comfort and Sean Woods’ gelding comes across as a horse who has more to offer, especially over further.
TIM TOE – ½ point each-way@25-1 (five places)
BAHADAR – ½ point each-way@22-1 (five places)