Sky Sports Racing's Elliot David is back under the radar at Royal Ascot with five horses. Everyone is back live. sky sports racing From June 18th to 22nd.
indirect
Queen Anne Stakes (Tuesday)
The curtain raiser at Royal Ascot saw a 'shocking' 33-1 win at triple time last year and we could see another win in what appears to be a public and tactical renewal for Queen Anne. Confirmed by John Gosden inspirational Heading into the Prince Of Wales's Stakes will only blur the picture further and the key to this may lie in tactics.
Lockinge Winner audience, Last Year's QEII Winners big rock, traveling the world brave emperor And looks young royal scottish There appears to be plenty of potential speed on offer. The leading trio only know one way to run, so a good run is guaranteed to bring a lot to the table. Among them, of course, would be the Lockinge runner-up. Charin Considering his outstanding performance in 2024, who will naturally be the favorite to win?
But for six times the price of the Varian runner, you might be interested in something from Francis-Henri Graffard. indirect He is well suited to the higher tempo of British racing. After two-time Group 1 winner Junko was eliminated in five rounds in March, he is unfit for the two slow-running tactical Group competitions on slow grass. Given the ample face angle here, expect Mickael Barzalona to sit back and ride him for a late delivery.
Dam Dolniya enjoyed a faster ground and her half-brother Dilawar is a fast ground Group 3 winner. Rain conditions are relatively low in the forecast after Tuesday, which seems to point to conditions just up his street.
Ultima Grace
Queen Mary Stakes (Wednesday)
It would be difficult to find a year in which a Wesley Ward-trained two-year-old was not the talk of the town in the youth category. But this year the Wathnan Racing squadron assembled at Ascot. We see Ward's team relatively under the radar, at least by their standards, and we get a sneak peek at their potential 'value' as a result.
Like Acapulco (2015) and Lady Aurelia (2016), this filly also started on dirt before switching to grass. Her Keeneland win on April 18 appeared to be nothing more than a glorious exercise, and she made dramatic strides to transition to grass and was said to be “much better on grass.”
The race has been friendly to American raiders since Ward's Jealous Again was added to Strike The Tiger's Windsor Castle victory in the 2009 renewal. Four additional winners followed. Three of them have been trained by Ward and they seem to be good at this job.
Given her current odds of being twice that of a typical Ward trainee in this contest, I'd say she offers significant value in a field with no notable home contenders in my opinion.
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Francis-Henri Graffard assesses his Royal Ascot chances with Katherine Ford.
golden water
King George V Stakes (Thursday)
Thursday's Royal Parade can add a bit of excitement!
Does anyone want another desert hero? The Royals will be hoping the familiar Haggas & Marquand pairing will unite once again with the son of Fastnet Rock. gold applause. The gelding achieved the target at his third attempt at Chepstow on May 31 while at the same time extending it further to 1m4f over a mile for the first time seems fitting. His Chepstow win saw him break away from the well-bred sort to run a time over four seconds faster than division two of the race, clocking a second furlong of 11.22 seconds and confirming his clear preference for the further two furlongs.
In Fiery Sunset, he is a half-brother to another bright former Royal-owned horse, Circle Of Fire, who moved to Australia to become a Group 1 winner following his fourth win in the Queen's Vase last year. Gilded Water is bred for stamina and you can see the comparison to Desert Hero.
Like a hero, he will attempt to travel for the first time. This statistic applies to nine of the last ten winners of this race and he arrives at Ascot with a similar handicap mark to his stablemate (92 to 94). The last 10 winners of the race each received a rating between 88 and 95, a clear window into the direction of this race.
man's world
King Edward VII Stakes (Friday)
This is probably After catching the eye at the Prix du Jockey Club on June 2, he raced never closer to fifth in the now-familiar Stempniak colors previously worn by Arc hero Ace Impact.
Coming out of the gate, he found himself two lengths behind his nearest rival for most of the race. Entering the false straight into the home turn, he camped out at the rear and switched to the outside under William Buick, making a notable and sustained late run. He couldn't pick out winner Look De Vega, who was in a good position overall, but he certainly highlighted his own talents.
He introduced Group 1 forms into an under-capacitated race to the top of the market, with principles pricing prestige and potential more than form books. Hopefully they set up a good run. World Man It is ridden similarly to Chantilly, with atmospheric riding expected to be suitable for Ascot's round course.
dark vintage
Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes (Friday)
I think Richard Fahey was keeping an eye on this race, looking for a recent signing who was in good form. Dark vintage.
The son of Dark Angel comes from the United States for the 2024 season, where he has shown he is a favorite of fast ground, including a narrow loss in the Listed Speakeasy Stakes at Santa Anita. The winner, John Sadler's Slider, has performed well at Group 1 and 2 levels, suggesting he is in excellent form. I will note the presence of blinkers for each of the four Stateside runs. I'll get back to you on this!
Two runs in England saw a quiet and steady debut at Sandown, ridden at the rear and not really involved on the fast 5f course at the Esher track, before putting in a much better effort in the Listed Westow Stakes at York. In Big Evs, the favorite of King Charles III, he faced a rival who he had no chance of winning but did not suffer the disgrace by 2 ½ lengths and three lengths. Once again he raced from the rear and was clearly ahead when things heated up in the final stages, but he ran very well under the forgiving ride of Oisin Orr. This was a step up from the Sandown run and coincided with the application of visors for the first time.
Definitely grateful for the return of some headgear, I can't help but think that this change to a harder 5f track would be right up his street. His half-brother Kerdos finished a neck in this race last year and I hope he can do even better.
