The final day of the Royal Ascot meeting has an earlier start time and an extra race to what we have seen so far this week, as eight races for the Saturday card on what looks to be a wonderful day of racing at the Berkshire track.
The schedule is headlined by the three Group 1 races in the middle of the afternoon which we have previewed elsewhere on the site. There are five other races from handicaps to Group 2 and even a conditions race too. Here is our look at those.
12.40 Royal Ascot
Preview
Another new addition to the meeting this year is the Silver Wokingham for horses that fail to make the cut in the main event later on the card, this is an ultra competitive 6 furlong handicap that has attracted a maximum field of 24. It’s a question of where to start & probably the safest option is to stick to the higher drawn runners on the evidence of the rest of the week.
Aplomb is one of two fancied Haggas runners & is a well backed favourite. He’s 7lbs above his last winning mark but is better judged on his neck 2nd to leading Wokingham fancy Tinto last year. He does however need soft ground to show his best & is no value at the current odds of 7/2. Blue Mist looks to have a good chance on his first start over this trip & goes well here in big handicaps but I’m not sure whether it’s the trip or his finishing kick that’s the issue so is passed over at a single figure price in such a tough heat. Swindler is another to finish behind Tinto but he does have a 2 from 2 record here. He probably needs firm in the going description which isn’t going to happen, and he has a tough draw in 2.
Betting
Any Wokingham, even a Silver one, is tough to solve so I’ve decided to risk 3 bets in a bid to continue our excellent handicap form this week. Nahaarr is the second of Haggas’ but the first of ours. He’s drawn 21 and is open to loads of improvement with just 6 career starts to date. He won his first 4 including a pair of handicaps by a combined 11 lengths which saw his mark rise to 93, which he races off today.
He’s disappointed the last twice but both times were over 7 furlongs & it looks to me that it’s a furlong too far. The first time, he was caught out the back off a slow pace & then took a keen hold before challenging but then fading inside the last half furlong when the tank emptied. Off the same mark & with James Doyle taking the ride for the first time, he should go well.
Our 2nd bet is Embour & I’m drawn to his chance now excellent 5lb claimer Thore Hammer Hansen takes over in the saddle. The jockey’s record this week reads 1 from 1 & I’m hoping he can add to that here. It is fine margins in these handicaps & he’s good value for those 5lbs so he could be well handicapped now as his last win mark was just 3lbs less. Drawn in 17, he ran well over an inadequate 5 furlongs last week so fitness isn’t an issue.
He has good form in big fields, most notably a 4th of 19 in a Heritage handicap here, 6th in the Portland behind Oxted & 5th in the Ayr Gold Cup. He’s been mainly campaigned on firm ground but his yard thinks he’ll appreciate a bit of cut & it’s worth noting he did win on good to soft early in his career. He should go really well in yet another big field handicap.
The final bet is firmly out of the speculative bucket and comes in the form of Chiefofchiefs. Charlie Fellowes has already trained a 33/1 handicap winner this week & puts William Buick on board this 50/1 shot here.
It’s the horse’s first run at this trip after starting out over further. He’s expected to improve for it given the way he travels through his races & he’s recommended on 2 bits of form, both here over a mile. The first was when 4th of 7 but he was unlucky that day. He was making his challenge alongside subsequent Group 1 winner Lord North before suffering interference that stopped him in his tracks. He was again behind Lord North when 9th of 20 on heavy ground when last off the bridle & hitting the front 2 furlongs out before failing to get home.
I’d expect him to travel smoothly into this &, if the trip works in his favour, we will get a good run for our money at a massive price.
Tips
PLACED – Back Nahaarr (e/w) for a 0.75/10 stake at 12.00 Skybet BOG (1/5 odds 1-6)
Back Embour (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 17.00 Paddy Power BOG (1/5 odds 1-6)
WON – Back Chiefofchiefs (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 51.00 Paddy Power BOG (1/5 odds 1-6)
1.15 Royal Ascot
Preview
The Queen Mary is a Group 2 event for 2 year old fillies & there’s a decent sized field of 20 going to post. The Ballydoyle runner More Beautiful comes out of box 20 & she won well on debut so could be hard to beat. The biggest concern is her trainer’s average record in the race. Campanelle is a US raider and she bids to go one better for a yard that was 2nd here 12 months ago but has a poor looking draw.
I thought the race that Sacred won at HQ was a good one and she & the 2nd home, Sardinia Sunset, have each way claims but both are drawn in single figure stalls so better value lies elsewhere. Another race where the 1-2 reopposes is the maiden won by Dickiedooda at the Curragh on Irish 1000 Guineas day. The winner won well, ridden out to score by a length & a half, and should go well again.
Betting
However, our bet is the 2nd horse home, Grammata. She was unfancied at the Curragh, going off at 33/1 but travelled better than any before being caught out by making her run a fraction late. The winner, on the other side of the track, got first one & jockey Joe Doyle maybe should have been more aware of the danger. Whether she’d have won is questionable but I do think she could have finished closer.
She has a good draw here in 14 & the yard of Hogan has secured the services of Oisin Murphy here. Odds of 40/1 underestimate her chance & she’s worth a small bet.
Tips
Back Grammata (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 34.00 William Hill BOG (1/5 odds 1-4)
Back her here:
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1.50 Royal Ascot
The second 2 year old race on the card is the 6 furlongs Coventry Stakes. Admiral Nelson looks a potential superstar for Ballydoyle but his odds reflect that so it’s a race to sit out.
4.10 Royal Ascot
Preview
As if one 20+ runner 6 furlong handicap wasn’t enough, we now have another in the form of the Wokingham. Bielsa is a warm order having won 4 of his 5 career starts but he’s 8lbs higher than his last win & failed when towards the back in the hottest race he’s faced, the Portland. Highland Dress goes for Archie Watson & has won his last 2 but this is much tougher & there are question marks over this much bigger field.
Again, due to the competitiveness, I make no apologies for having 3 tries at finding the winner. There was a really decent Class 2 handicap held at Newmarket 2 weeks ago & this could hold the key here with the 1-2 reopposing. We can’t leave either out of calculations & they make up our 2 main bets.
Betting
Tinto was a shock winner there at 40/1 but the biggest shock for me was the price. He won off 100 there & is up 5lbs today but now has the assistance of Marco Ghiani, a promising 5lb claimer, in the saddle which effectively means he’s off the same mark. Previous to that win, you can ignore the 4 runs immediately before due to surface (all weather does not show him up in the best light) & class (Group race).
In fact, previous to that in his last 3 handicaps over this trip, he’d finished 211 beaten a neck in his only defeat. So, added to his win last time out, he was 2nd off 87 before winning off 91, 96 and 100, & there’s probably more to come. Both of those wins at the end of last term were with Ghiani in the saddle, one of them over course & distance. The ground is fine & a middle draw in 11 should be fine, especially given Dark Vision won the Hunt Cup earlier this week from the same draw.
The runner up in that Newmarket race was Summerghand & he’s been put up just 1lb for that performance. That day, he was held up last off a pace bias so emerges with loads of credit in finishing best of all, just over a length behind the winner.
What I really like is his form in big field handicaps with 5 super efforts off marks 1lb either side of today’s mark of 101. He was 5th of 26 in this race & then finished 4th of 27 in the Stewards Cup, 2nd of 17 in the Great St Wilfrid, 4th of 24 in the Ayr Gold Cup & 4th of 17 in the Challenge Cup. He deserves to land a big prize, goes well here & it’s interesting the yard having turned to James Doyle who takes the ride for the first time.
From a lower draw, I can’t leave Silent Echo out of calculations. Yes, he may get done by the draw but if not, he holds as good a chance as any. He won on reappearance & is up 4lbs to a mark of 99 which got him a run in this. He is really lightly raced having missed all of last season until 4 runs late in the year on the all weather.
Looking back to his form in 2018 (as a 4 year old), he was 5th of 28 in this race off 2lbs higher & his record in 3 good handicaps here reads 225 so there’s plenty to like. The other thing I’m drawn to is his form with Tom Marquand in the saddles; in handicaps, he’s finished 21152 from 5 rides which, in the horse’s 10 other handicaps, he’s had 2 wins & 1 second. He’s gone under the radar a little but I think he’ll go really well with Marquand on board.
Tips
Back Tinto (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 11.00 Skybet BOG (1/5 odds 1-6)
Back Summerghand (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 10.00 Skybet BOG (1/5 odds 1-6)
Back Silent Echo (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 15.00 Betfair Sportsbook BOG (1/5 odds 1-6)
Back it here:
4.40 Royal Ascot
The last race of a brilliant week is the longest race of the week, the Queen Alexandra stakes run over 2 miles 5 furlongs. As I’ve made clear, I’m no fan of long distances races so will sit this out & reflect on what’s been a winning week.
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