Tag: Diamond Jubilee Stakes

Royal Ascot Saturday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Royal Ascot comes to an end on Saturday with the Diamond Jubilee Stakes being the headline event. With the possible exception of Black Caviar’s sensational visit, this race seems an odd one to feature on the closing Saturday. In fact, I am surprised that they haven’t moved the Ascot Gold Cup to the Saturday as most of the other traditions have gone out of the window in recent years!

The Gold Cup was the highlight of the week for me. What a game effort by Estimate to get so close to winning it for a second consecutive season for Her Majesty. I thought that last year’s runner-up Simenon hinted at a return to form by making up a good deal of ground in the home straight. With Brown Panther also running well on ground faster than he likes, there are plenty of options including the Melbourne Cup again for both horses.

My regular readers will know that I have followed Aljamaaheer throughout his career and that he has seldom let me down. He is quite an easy horse to read in that he loves fast ground, almost always pulls too hard and just barely gets home over a mile. With that in mind, it is not that surprising that Roger Varian has trained him for the sprints this season.

His first attempt came at the Craven meeting where he duly missed the break! It was probably the one thing that could possibly beat him that day, rather like England failing to mark the one player on the pitch capable of beating them on Thursday night!

Hopefully Paul Hanagan will make sure that he gets away on level terms and he will surely run a good race. He is not that easy to win with as he tends to only win in photographs but he looks solid each-way value.

My other bet on the Ascot card is for Sir Michael Stoute’s Telescope in the Hardwicke Stakes. Stoute has only got two top class middle-distance colts and it seems odd that they face each other here. Hillstar could be the biggest threat as he handles this quicker ground but Telescope looked a class act at York last year and we’ll give him one more chance. His form with Noble Mission doesn’t look so bad after that horse won a Group 1 in Ireland.

Telescope 3.45 Royal Ascot at 9-4 Paddy Power, BetVictor

Aljamaaheer 4.25 Royal Ascot at 9-2 Paddy Power

Royal Ascot Day 5 Preview – Saturday 22nd June

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The bookmakers were the winners on day 4 with our double on the O’Brien horses thwarted by Hillstar. Congratulations to connections of Sky Lantern after she put Just The Judge firmly in her place. Perhaps we will see the grey take on Dawn Approach in the Sussex Stakes? We’re still well ahead on the week but the effect of the draw is a real head-scratcher going into Saturday’s big sprints.

On Thursday night it was an established fact that it was an advantage to be drawn low but that all changed with the result of the Buckingham Palace Stakes. Low numbers never got a look in with stalls 32, 30 and 24 the first three home. Could it have simply been a question of there being more pace on the near side or did Thursday nights watering all fall on the far side of the track? We will never know.

Our ante-post wagers on the Wokingham are Duke Of Firenze (10-1) drawn 31 and Nocturn (25-1) drawn 12. The form of Nocturn was not exactly boosted by a miserable effort from Enrol today but we’ve still got good value. My main concern is whether he will continue to hang left in his races. He got away with it at Newmarket and Windsor but I’m not sure he could afford to do it here.

As it is the last day of the meeting and we’ve got funds in the bank I’m going to put up another couple of long shots. Mass Rally left me cursing when swooping to catch Nocturn on the Knavesmire but has been leniently treated by the handicapper here. Whether or not stall 6 is good I have no idea but 25-1 does not do him justice. The other is Shropshire, trained by Charlie Hills. He suffered a nightmare run at Newmarket and is just the sort to pop up in a race like this. He’s coming out of 18 so we’ll have covered most eventualities!

In the opening race I like Autumn Lily at 14-1. Her stable companion Ihtimal has been slashed in price for finishing second to today’s runaway winner Kiyoshi but I liked the attitude of Autumn Lily at Haydock and hope she can at least reach a place.

In the Hardwicke Stakes I am keen to oppose Mount Athos, not because I have anything against the horse, but simply because the race he won at Chester was hardly worthy of the name. There are some good tough horses up against him tomorrow and Ektihaam will presumably attempt to run them ragged. I like Aiken but Gosden’s horses have been shaping as though they will benefit from the run all week and Sir John Hawkwood is another tough nut to crack. I’ll side with Ektihaam.

Our Diamond Jubilee hopes rest with Society Rock and Hawkeyethenoo. I’d like to see enough rain to ease the going a fraction for Hawkeyethenoo as I’m convinced he could spring a surprise. There seems to be growing confidence in Sea Siren so I’m going to have a saver on the Australian raider.

In the penultimate race I am keen on Rye House after the way he won at York. I thought he looked a possible Ebor contender that day and I’ll be disappointed if he can’t defy a 9lb rise in the weights. You could make a decent case for Hammerfest or Blue Surf but I’m going to have an each-way on Lahaag. He did nothing wrong when second to First Mohican last time out and should make the frame for team Gosden.

Finally, class should tell in the last race as Shahwardi is way better than these on his form in Australia last winter. Admittedly his last run looks pretty awful but I can’t believe Monsieur Royer-Dupre would bring him over to Ascot half-cooked. The rest of the field are the usual mixture of non-stayers and prospective hunter chasers.

2.30 Autumn Lily 14-1 Stan James

3.05 Ektihaam 5-2 Coral

3.45 Ante-Post Hawkeyethenoo 16-1, Society Rock 9-2
Sea Siren 9-1 Coral

4.25 Ante-Post Nocturn 25-1, Duke Of Firenze 10-1
Mass Rally 25-1 Betfair
Shropshire 20-1 William Hill

5.00 Rye House 6-1 Totesport
Lahaag 11-1 Bet365

5.35 Shahwardi 7-2 Coral

Royal Ascot Sprint Race Ante-Post Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Two of the championship races of the sprint season take place at Royal Ascot next week. The King’s Stand Stakes over five furlongs starts the ball rolling and there seems to be plenty of confidence in South African raider Shea Shea.

He is a firm favourite on the basis of two blistering performances in Meydan in March. Mike de Kock’s six-year-old easily beat Sole Power by two and a half lengths in the Meydan Sprint and then followed up by easing to victory in the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint. Sole Power was beaten about the same distance into fourth with Spirit Quartz and Medicean Man well beaten in both races.

On the bare form, Shea Shea must have a great chance. Whether or not he is entitled to be 5-2 I am not sure. If you factor in the time between races, the travelling and the different surface, there must be some hope for the opposition. Sole Power looked impressive in the Palace House Stakes but was never going to win at Haydock next time and it could be that he has peaked for the season.

Spirit Quartz has followed more or less the same programme as Sole Power and managed to get his head in front in France last week. He has been running his usual honest races and will surely land a Group 1 prize sooner or later. He is currently trading at a generous 27-1 on Betfair. Trainer Robert Cowell is also the current handler of veteran Kingsgate Native and he followed up a fine second at Newmarket with victory in the Temple Stakes.

Arguments have been put forward for Swiss Spirit (2nd) and Reckless Abandon (3rd) to reverse the form at the Royal meeting and consequently Kingsgate Native is still available at 14-1. Swiss Spirit was hampered at the start but looked flat out most of the way. I fully respect the run of Reckless Abandon and he may have been unlucky to be on the far side. It was a most encouraging effort but I just have a feeling that the six furlong race would suit him better. In terms of value, I have to side with Kingsgate Native at an each-way price.

The six furlong Diamond Jubilee Stakes looks the weaker of the two sprints with Shea Shea and Restless Abandon swerving it in favour of the King’s Stand. That has left Society Rock as favourite following his win in the Duke Of York Stakes.

I was on Hawkeyethenoo that day and felt a little aggrieved not to be collecting place money at least. Graham Lee has made a smooth transition to flat race riding but he was not at his best that day, failing to seize the opportunity to challenge wide before eventually running on strongly in fourth. Society Rock is priced at around 9-2 whilst Hawkeyethenoo is still available at 16-1. Jim Goldie’s eight-year-old was only beaten a little over a length by the winner and the difference in prices means that he has to be given another chance.

King’s Stand
Kingsgate Native 14-1 William Hill

Spirit Quartz 27-1 Betfair

Diamond Jubilee
Hawkeyethenoo 16-1 William Hill