After the continental kick in the hole that was the 2017 Cheltenham Festival, I’ve only just picked myself up off the ground and decided to give this old beast a reminder.
A few winners and all will be forgiven… eh?
I’m writing from a sweltering (mid 30s) London suburb and I can promise you it is hotter here than that photo someone sent you of the temperature on their dashboard (nap).
To paraphrase a man we all know; “#Sweatingbydabollox lads.” No, seriously. It’s quite bad…
Anyways, Royal Ascot creeps up on us once again, so without any further bullshit…
14:30 Queen Anne Stakes (Group 1): It’s been less than plain sailing of late over on the good ship Godolphin and Ribchester would be a nice way for them to start the week. It’s been well recorded at this stage that things obviously didn’t go to plan in the Lockinge but he did the job anyway. However, at odds on, in what is probably not a Queen Anne for the ages, the Lockinge wasn’t amazing either and I’d be opposing the fav. Mutakayyef is the one for me here, each way, at the current prices (15/2). His run in the Dubai Turf is an eyesore in the form figures alright, but his run behind Tepin, one of my favourite Yank horses, was solid form. He is proven to act on a faster surface over this course and distance having won the Summer Mile last term and will hopefully be in the shake up.
15:00 Coventry Stakes (Group 2): Brother Bear has been the one I’ve been chirping about for a while now. Partially because I’ve seen him win both times in the flesh, both on very different days. Leopardstown was impressive on quick ground beating one of Aidan’s (Sioux Nation) who was odds on, and then grinding away in the wind and the rain to win the Marble Hill by three lengths. He’s just a horse I like and would seem to be tough. I backed him after Leopardstown and will be hoping for him to be bang there. If you were looking for one at a bigger price for an each way bet, I thought Romanised won well in Navan back in April, winning a decent maiden including the likes of Declarationofpeace, Wolfofbaggottstreet and Another Batt in behind.
15:40 King’s Stand Stakes (Group 1): Marsha is currently trading as favourite for this at around the 10/3 mark. I assume that price is given she won the Abbaye and the Palace House on her last two starts. Now, on both of those runs Washington DC was second to her, within a length each time. Obviously, Washington DC was the busier of the two horses heading to exotic places like Meydan, Santa Anita and Navan… but to my thick brain 16/1 does not reflect Washington DC’s ability to get close to Marsha. I have no major opinion on the race, but that formline and those prices could be an interesting angle in hindsight. I’ve forgiven his Haydock run and had a minor each way bet.
16:20 St James’s Palace Stakes (Group 1): As I’m sure you’ve read in the papers, this should be good. I’ll be shouting for Churchill but won’t be backing him. He possibly still doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Maybe this would finally get it for him.
17:00 Ascot Stakes (Handicap): I thought Who Dares Wins travelled like the winner for a good portion of the Chester Cup and only went up a pound for it. Handles this ground and should stay on well.
17:35 Windsor Castle Stakes (Listed): Declarationofpeace won like a decent horse winning a Dundalk maiden last month, the second placed of which has won since. He was just bested in a Navan maiden on debut, as mentioned earlier, but the penny looks to have dropped with him now and he seems to have been well supported in the market, now the 7/2 fav. Market vibes will be intersting from the Wesley Ward camp. One of those two horses will likely go off quite hard making it a fair gallop.
So that’s it for Day 1 folks. Hopefully there might be something in there to keep us going.
Slán tamaillín,
T
Turf Talk 