Royal Ascot Wednesday 17th June 2015

Well day one didn’t’ exactly go according to plan so hopefully  things will improve today although the fact that the first day is usually  my best day of the week doesn’t  bode well. An each way return on Muthmir and the short price win on Gleneagles resulted in a net loss of about 50% so we have a bit of catching up to do today. Night of Thunder and Shwaiman ran absolute stinkers but Orvar ran on well and is one to keep on side. Unluckiest  bet of the day though was War Department who was practicaly knocked over at one point and was eased soon after. He will be winning again soon so any losses there are only lent.

On to today then and although Thursday is designated  ladies day ttoday an equine female feel to it as three of the six races are .limited to fillies and mares. The  opening  Jersey Stakes at 2.30 isn’t one of them but a filly could still be the key for me. FADHAYYIL was well fancied for the 1000 Guineas and despite looking in need of the run ran on into fifth. She looks as though she will be better suited by todays 7 furlong trip and at likely odds is a better betting proposition than favourite Ivawood who not only has to concede weight for sex allowance but also a penalty. At around the 9/1 mark she looks good value.

The Queen Mary at 3.05  looks wide open with an array of unexposed speedy fillies in the line up. Mark Johnston’s two year olds have been going well and I keep getting drawn back to the unbeaten RAH RAH even though the straight course here is as far removed as the sharp turns of Chester where she won last time. Basharah is the other stand out for me but as Rah Rah is double the price she is the value bet.

Hopefully things should get a little easier in the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at 3.40  and INTEGRAL is a confident choice to follow up last years win. Clearly the class act in the race she is capable of conceding the Group One  penalty.

Although the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at 4.20 looks a fascinating  race I am not so sure it has the class of a usual renewal. FREE EAGLE has been touted as something special and if he is as good as expected he needs to win handsomely  today. The Grey Gatsby is no back number but seems to have two ways of running and is not one to rely on. Similar can be said of Cannock  Chase  who appears to prefer coming second. The interesting runner is the Japanese raider Speilberg. Many better judges than me think he can spring a surprise but we all saw yesterday how difficult it is for form to cross continents.

The  Wokingham  at 5.00  is as difficult as ever and if you ran it five times you would probably get five diferent results. Several look to have excellent chances and all will need some luck in running. I like Mondialiste who surely has a big handicap in him and is better suited by these large field charges as he showed in the Lincoln. He may just need to come down a pound or two in the weights though. Chill The Kite is another with a big chance and with a clear passage he could snatch it late. That clear passage is not guaranteed  to arrive though. Gm Hopkins looks as though he could develop into somethng more than a handicapper and could also go close.  However, after much deliberating and messing with slide rules the selection is YOU’RE FIRED. Just about the best in at the weights he is a tough nut and has the huge assistance of Graham Lee in the plate. He may not quite be up to winning a race of this quality but will certainly be on the premises and a good run looks on the cards. I will also be perming all four of the horses mentioned in forecast  and tricast bets as tilting at the odd windmill is never a bad thing !

The concluding Sandringham Handicap at 5.35 is another fillies only event and ALWAYS SMILE looks to have an excellent chance and shoud hopefully see the day end with a victory although the odds are not likely to be  spectacular. Mother’s Finest and Pack Together look lke the other main improvers in the field and they can follow her home.

2.30  FADHAYYIL

3.05 RAH RAH

3.40 INTEGRAL (NAP)

4.20 FREE EAGLE  (NB)

5.00 YOU’RE FIRED

5.35 ALWAYS SMILE

Royal Ascot Tuesday 16th June 2015

Well another year has flown by and here we are again back at Royal Ascot.  Never has a blog site lived up to its name quite so dissapointingly as this one as we haven’t managed to find the time to post a single entry all year. Hopefully that is about to change though and at least this year we have  kicked off on day one.

Things get underway at 2.30 with the Queen Anne Stakes over a mile and this could well be one of the standout races of the week. Foreign  raiders Solow and Able Friend both have impressive looking form figures and either could look like a good thing after the event. However ,  given the prices on offer and the slight question marks over both of the favourites, (Able Friend is not proven over a straight course and Solow has never come up against a top notch miler) I am going to side with last years Guineas hero NIGHT OF THUNDER.  He won what was possibly the best running of the 2000 Guineas for many a year and although he never quite hit those heights again he still ran creditably in defeat. His reappearance victory in the Lockinge was as good a performance  as any of his rivals have shown this season and at considerably longer odds he is the value bet. The Hannon yard have a good record in the race and I cannot envisage him not making the first three. Therefore at the 5/1 still readily available an each way bet is virtually a bet for nothing. Stable companion Toormore could follow him home for a Hannon  1-2.

The Coventry  Stakes  at 3.05 is the first two year old race of the week and usually throws up a decent horse or two. That looks the case again this year with several well bred unexposed and unbeaten  horses in the line up. Round Two is far too  short a price for me so he is easy to bypass. Similarly I haven’t been that impressed with the O’Brien two year olds so far so Air Force One is also jettisoned.  The unbeaten WAR DEPARTMENT produced a tremendous display on his only start at Leicester and the William Haggas trained colt looks like a potential superstar. Not many horses get a rating of over 100 from Timeform on their debut and I can see him powering home from Qeyaadah who also looked imprssive on his only start to date.

The sprinters take centre stage at 3.40 for the Kings Stand Stakes and although Sole Power will be a popular choice to win it for the third year in a row time may be catching up with him and MUTHMIR is a confident choice to grab the sprinting crown. Hot Streak could also run into a place at long odds

This years St James’s Palace Stakes at 4.20 looks like a bit of a non event and it is impossible to oppose dual Guineas  winner GLENEAGLES. However the price will reflect this so for betting purposes he is probably best included in doubles and trebles. Belardo looks a huge price and if there were more runners I would be suggesting an each way bet on him instead. A forecast may be the way to go here.

The two and a half mile Ascot Stakes at 5.00 looks wide open at first glance and my ratings have the majority of the feild withim 8 pounds of each other. SHWAIMAN has been a thorough rogue on occasions and is now the owner of the infamous Timeform squiggle despite being one of tneir horses to follow last season. He has recently  changed yards and gone hurdling , winning on his second attempt over timber last month. One of only three in the field to have won onthe flat over this marathon trip it is hoped that the resurgent  Frankie Dettori can rekindle the horses enthusiasm on the level. Fellow hurdler and distance winner Broxbourne is my suggestion for the forecast and may be worth a seperate each way wager.  The Irish trained Hardstone is suggested for the tricast.

The final race of the day sees 27 two year olds hurtling up the Ascot straight in the five furlong Windsor  Castle  Stakes and is no easy get out of trouble race for anyone who has found winners hard to come by in the earlier races. Several unbeaten horses put their record on the line here and I always like to follow an unbeaten horse that appears on the upgrade.  The American raider Ruby Notion is likely to make a bold bid to make all but her only previous run was on dirt in America and over half a furlong shorter than here. With that in mind I expect her to be nailed on the line by the unbeaten Richard Hannon colt ORVAR. He may not have beaten much at Salisbury on his debut but you can only beat what runs against you and he did it well. He is the chosen mount of three by Richard Hughes and can keep his unbeaten record intact.

2.30 NIGHT OF THUNDER

3.05  WAR DEPARTMENT (NB)

3.40  MUTHMIR  (NAP)

4.20 GLENEAGLES

5.00 SHWAIMAN

5.35 ORVAR